The trick of 'international cooperation' to trick people into fleeing abroad

Studying abroad is just a cover

AHD International Cooperation Joint Stock Company, where Nguyen Thi Oanh (40 years old, residing in Nghe An) is the Director, was licensed by the Nghe An Department of Education and Training to operate study abroad consulting services. But that “license”, instead of being used for its intended purpose, was turned into a cover for a network of illegal human migration organizations.

According to the records of the authorities, Nguyen Thi Oanh and Bui Van Manh (45 years old, residing in Ninh Binh) connected with many individuals at home and abroad, including Jeong Woo Hyun (51 years old, Korean nationality) to commit fraud. The subjects drew up the prospect of "changing their lives" in foreign countries with service packages to Korea, Malaysia, Australia with sweet advertising words.

To convince workers to submit documents and pay money, this group assigned a number of people: Bui Thi Anh Tuyet (41 years old), Le Thi Huong (33 years old), Nguyen Thi Ngoc (31 years old), Vo Thi Huong (30 years old), Pham Van Dan (37 years old)... to take on the role of broker, introduce, and even "commit" to take care of all exit procedures. Believing their words, many families borrowed money to pay the Company.

But behind that promise were illegal tricks masterminded by the subjects in this network. The defendants created fake profiles, forged documents, even drew up a route to Malaysia - Sri Lanka to "study English" and then transfer to Australia, then stay and work illegally.

The investigation agency determined that from May 2022 to December 2023, this line organized 25 people to illegally work abroad. The total amount of money collected was more than 10 billion VND, 25,500 USD and 4,000 AUD.

Specifically, from May 2022 to June 2023, Nguyen Thi Oanh, Bui Van Manh, and Bui Thi Anh Tuyet received documents and nearly VND 1.4 billion from 4 workers. After that, this group transferred nearly VND 800 million to Jeong Woo Hyun and Bui Thi Thiem to organize for the above 4 people to go to Korea as tourists and then stay to work illegally. On June 30, 2022, when the above 4 workers left for Jeju Island (Korea), they were not allowed to enter the country and were forced to return to Vietnam.

Then, in August 2023, Oanh directed Manh and Tuyet to receive documents and 34 million VND from a worker to organize a trip to Malaysia as a tourist and stay illegally to work. However, a few days after this person left for Malaysia, he was deported back to Vietnam.

In addition, Oanh and Manh also directed their subordinates to prepare documents for 20 workers, collecting a total of more than VND 8 billion, USD 25,500 and AUD 4,000, with the aim of organizing them to go to Australia by going to Malaysia - Sri Lanka to study English, then completing exit procedures to Australia but failed.

To organize for 20 people to go to Australia as students and then stay and work, Nguyen Thi Oanh and Bui Van Manh directed Tuyet, Huong, Ngoc, and Huong to instruct the workers to contact Nguyen Quang Tuyen (37 years old, residing in Nghe An) to order fake documents. Tuyen then contacted Nguyen Cong Anh (47 years old), along with Tran Thi Tuyet (41 years old) to make fake documents for the workers to submit to AHD Company to make exit documents.

The price to pay for scammers

Recently, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first instance trial of 13 defendants on the charges of organizing others to flee abroad and forging seals and using fake documents of agencies and organizations. The courtroom that day was packed with people as many victims came to court. Many people's faces showed sadness and anxiety after being deceived.

At the trial, Nguyen Thi Oanh admitted to committing the crime for greed. The woman who used to run the company is no longer confident. Oanh stated that although the company was only licensed by the authorities to operate study abroad consulting, it was not licensed to operate employment services or services to send people abroad. But because of greed, the defendant, together with defendant Manh, used the company's name to cooperate and connect with many individuals to organize sending Vietnamese people abroad in the form of tourism, trade, study abroad, etc. The purpose of the subjects was to then let the Vietnamese people stay illegally to work.

In this criminal ring, there was a foreign defendant, Jeong Woo Hyun. Due to health problems, this defendant was allowed to sit during the interrogation. Defendant Jeong Woo Hyun admitted that he had cooperated with Oanh in illegally sending workers to Korea. The defendant knew that his actions were against Vietnamese law but still did it. This defendant asked the panel of judges to consider leniency under Vietnamese law.

The remaining defendants in the case also expressed remorse for their crimes. Many of them were once employees of the Company, but have now become accomplices in serious crimes. The defendants hope for a lighter sentence so they can soon have a chance to start their lives over again.

Many victims attending the trial could not hide their grief and anxiety because they had spent a large sum of money hoping to go abroad. However, they were defrauded by the defendants and lost a large sum of money. The pain of those families was not only in the money, but also in the disappointment when their trust was betrayed.

After the trial, the panel of judges determined that this was an organized, prolonged case involving many provinces and cities, with an exceptionally large amount of money embezzled. The defendants’ actions not only violated the State’s administrative management order, but also caused serious consequences for workers and society.

After considering the role of each defendant in the case, the People's Court sentenced Nguyen Thi Oanh to 8 years in prison for "Organizing others to flee abroad" and 3 years in prison for "Using fake documents of agencies and organizations", giving Oanh a total sentence of 11 years in prison.

The court sentenced defendant Bui Van Manh to 9 years in prison; Bui Thi Anh Tuyet to 8 years in prison. Defendants Nguyen Thi Ngoc and Vo Thi Huong were both sentenced to 30 months in prison; Le Thi Huong to 27 months in prison.

For the crime of "Organizing others to flee abroad", defendant Jeong Woo Hyun received 18 months in prison; Pham Van Dan received 18 months in prison with a suspended sentence; Bui Thi Thiem received 15 months in prison with a suspended sentence.

For the crime of "Forgery of seals and documents of agencies and organizations", the Court sentenced Nguyen Quang Tuyen to 30 months in prison, Nguyen Cong Anh to 30 months in prison, Bui Xuan Thanh to 24 months in prison, and Tran Thi Tuyet to 18 months in prison with a suspended sentence.

The trial ended, the defendants received their sentences, but the pain of the victims has not yet ended. A study abroad consulting company - which is the door to bring young people out into the world - has been turned into a tool for a sophisticated criminal network. Under the guise of "international cooperation" and attractive advertisements about a life-changing future in a foreign land, the subjects not only defrauded billions of dong but also pushed many families into debt and misery. The case is a valuable warning about the situation of taking advantage of the open door policy, study abroad and tourism programs to carry out illegal activities. At the same time, it also requires tightening the management of units operating in the field of study abroad consulting, employment and international labor cooperation, so that no one has to trade the future drawn by those who disregard the law for greed.

For the people, this is a warning bell, do not risk your assets and future just because of promises of "easy going abroad, light work, high salary". Please carefully research the information, check the origin of the organization and documents before handing over money and documents. Because in reality, in an increasingly open world, the boundary between real opportunities and scams is increasingly fragile, only understanding and alertness can help each person protect themselves from unreal dreams.