The spectacular scam by the wife of a gold shop owner in a mountainous district of Nghe An province.
Under the guise of a gold shop owner, Nguyen Thi Thao (residing in Con Cuong district) easily raised capital from many local residents. It was only when people heard that Thao had been arrested for another crime that they realized they had fallen into a trap... The fraud occurred 8 years ago, but to this day, many victims have still not been able to recover the money they were swindled out of.
Falling into the trap of "high profits"
Around June 2016, the Con Cuong District Police received hundreds of complaints against Nguyen Thi Thao (born in 1959), residing in Con Cuong town, for fraud and misappropriation of property. Notably, at that time, Thao had just received a 7-month suspended sentence for gambling. It is known that in May 2016, while authorities were dismantling a cross-provincial gambling and football betting ring, they discovered Thao was a key figure in the operation.
Upon hearing that Ms. Thao had been imprisoned, hundreds of people filed complaints with the district police accusing her of engaging in "loan sharking" activities and embezzling tens of billions of dong. Based on documents collected at the end of 2016, the authorities initiated a criminal case and detained Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao, who was identified as the main perpetrator of the crime.CheatThe list of victims compiled at that time totaled over 380 people, mostly residents of Con Cuong district and some neighboring districts.
According to the suspect's initial statement, since 2009, Ms. Thao had received "investment" funds from hundreds of local residents with the promise of paying interest of 1,000 VND per 1 million VND per month. Initially, many residents, after receiving their interest payments in full, encouraged their family members to contribute money as well.
For example, Ms. NTT (residing in Con Cuong town) - one of hundreds of victims - "invested" in Ms. Thao's business. Enticed by a neighbor, Ms. NTT gave 200 million VND, her savings from years of selling goods, to invest for "profit." Six years have passed, and Ms. NTT still keeps the ledger stamped with the red seal of Hung Thao gold shop detailing the profits, but the actual amount received is only 60 million VND.
After not receiving interest payments due to a recalculation of interest rates, Ms. NTT went to inquire and discovered that Ms. Thao had recently received a suspended prison sentence for gambling. Alarmed, she contacted her neighbors who had also invested in the scheme, only to find out that everyone had been promised the same thing. With a heavy heart, Ms. NTT filed a report with the police.
Similar to the case of Mr. LVT (Chi Khe commune, Con Cuong district), like other victims, Mr. T. entrusted his money to Ms. Thao because he placed too much trust in her. “My wife and I carefully saved up 65 million VND. We observed that many people deposited money there, and could withdraw it immediately when needed, which was very convenient. We also thought that since it had a government-issued seal for the business, I discussed it with my wife and we decided to deposit it with Ms. Thao, hoping to earn interest and save for old age and illness. My sister saw that I deposited money and also gathered all the money in the house, totaling 75 million VND, and deposited it as well… We never imagined this would happen,” Mr. T. shared.
These are just two of nearly 400 victims who, due to their gullibility, had to suffer greatly.
Even after dissolution, they are still raising capital!
The private enterprise Hung Thao is owned by Mr. Nguyen Phi Hung (born in 1956), the husband of Nguyen Thi Thao. The business specializes in buying and selling gold, silver, jewelry, handicrafts, and various types of motorcycles. Although aware that her business was not authorized to solicit deposits, Ms. Thao, as the wife, issued deposit slips and used the company's red seal to create trust, leading people to mistakenly believe that the business was soliciting capital for its gold, silver, and motorcycle trading.
Due to the long-term mobilization of deposits from the public (from 2009 to October 2015), with a large amount of money involved, and the inability to repay the debt, on October 23, 2015, Nguyen Thi Thao instructed the company's accountant to draft a decision to dissolve the business, citing losses and inability to pay the incurred expenses to the Con Cuong District Tax Office. However, she did not announce or post the dissolution decision at the company's headquarters, nor did she inform the people who had deposited money.
Through the investigation process, the investigating agency determined that Thao had defrauded 383 people, appropriating 24.8 billion VND. Of that amount, Thao has repaid more than 2.3 billion VND in principal and 868 million VND in interest to the victims.
Considered a wealthy "gold and silver tycoon" in the western mountainous region of Nghe An province, Thao also owned one of the largest motorcycle dealerships in the area. With her reputation and immense wealth, even after her business was dissolved, Thao continued to actively solicit and collect large sums of money from the public. After receiving the deposits, Thao used the money for family and personal expenses, and is now completely unable to repay the victims. Then, suddenly, the "tycoon" of the mountainous region was arrested for gambling and simultaneously announced bankruptcy, leaving hundreds of people in dire straits.
143 victims simultaneously filed appeals.
At the first-instance trial on March 9, 2018, during questioning, Nguyen Thi Thao claimed that the money transfers were voluntary, and that people who deposited money with her would receive interest of 1,000 VND per 1 million VND per month. When asked about the large sum of money she had collected from the victims, Thao calmly stated that she had "gambled" and had no money left to repay the victims. The first-instance court sentenced Thao to life imprisonment for fraud and ordered her to compensate the victims with 21.6 billion VND.
The initial verdict was not appealed, but 143 victims simultaneously filed appeals to the appellate court, requesting clarification of the roles and responsibilities of the defendant Thao's husband and children in the fraud case. The victims also requested that Thao be investigated for allegedly transferring assets to her daughter, and asked authorities to recover the assets and return them to the victims. In addition, victim X. also appealed, demanding that Thao compensate them with an additional 9 taels of 9999 gold.
From early morning on April 25, 2019, hundreds of victims in the case traveled by bus or motorbike, covering 130 km from the mountainous district to Vinh City to attend the appeal trial. Among the 383 victims, hundreds are from impoverished households in the mountainous areas of Nghe An province. Some had sold their buffaloes, cows, chickens, and pigs, or borrowed money from banks... trusting Thao, the "tycoon," only to be cheated out of all their money, adding to their family's hardship.
At the appeal hearing, after each question from the panel of judges, defendant Nguyen Thi Thao gave evasive answers with a nonchalant attitude. Defendant Nguyen Thi Thao vehemently pleaded not guilty, claiming that the money was currently with the people. According to the defendant, the money that nearly 400 people deposited, Thao used to buy motorbikes and then sold them on credit to 1,589 people in Ky Son district…
When asked by the judges, "You had no role in the Hung Thao private enterprise, so what right did you have to receive such a large sum of money from the people?", Thao claimed that she was helping her husband because he was ill.
The appellate court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to determine that Thao's husband and son conspired to assist her in misappropriating the money. The appellate court only considered the issues that the lower court had already addressed in the case. Therefore, if the victims have grounds to believe that Thao's husband (now deceased) and son assisted her in using the misappropriated money, they can continue to file a complaint with the investigating agency for consideration.
The panel of judges also stated that the investigation, the case file, and the trial proceedings did not provide evidence to prove that Thao had transferred assets to her daughter; therefore, there was no basis to consider this detail. If the victims have sufficient evidence to prove that Thao transferred assets to her daughter, they have the right to file a petition with the enforcement agency to verify and carry out the procedures as prescribed by law.
After a day of trial, the appellate court announced that it partially accepted the appeal and amended the first-instance judgment regarding civil compensation for Ms. X., rejected the appeals of the other victims, upheld other issues of the first-instance judgment, and sentenced Thao to life imprisonment for fraud and appropriation of property.
Regarding civil liability, the court ordered the defendant Thao to compensate the victims as stated in the first-instance judgment, and ordered Nguyen Cao Cuong (Thao's son) to jointly compensate nine victims. The court also ordered the defendant Thao to compensate Ms. X. with an additional 9 taels of 9999 gold.
At the appellate court hearing, the panel of judges also advised people who intend to invest capital to earn interest to research reputable agencies and organizations, avoiding the temptation of high interest rates that could lead to financial loss and other problems.
