Despite having outstanding legal charges, she continues to engage in surrogacy fraud.
Despite being under legal proceedings for raising a young child, Vu Thi Lieu (Hai Duong) advertised that she could find a surrogate mother to give birth to a son for a "package deal" of 700 million VND.
On the morning of June 21, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first-instance trial of defendant Vu Thi Lieu (born in 1990), residing in Ninh Giang district, Hai Duong province, on the charge of "Fraudulent appropriation of property".
Reportedly, in October 2022, Lieu posted information on social media about offering surrogacy services at an all-inclusive price and with a commitment to fulfilling the woman's wishes.
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At that time, Ms. NTV (born in 1978) and her husband, residing in Nghe An, wanted to have another son to continue the family line but lacked the health to do so. They contacted Lieu hoping to find a surrogate mother.
When requested by Ms. NTV, Lieu committed to finding a surrogate mother to give birth to a son for the couple through artificial insemination for a total price of 700 million VND. As soon as both parties agreed, Lieu proceeded with the registration procedures for Ms. NTV's husband to undergo testing and sperm collection.
However, due to the poor health of the woman Lieu introduced for egg donation, no eggs could be found for fertilization. Lieu then conceived the idea of defrauding NTV and her husband of their money for her own use.
Lieu continued to lie to NTV and her husband, claiming that everything was complete and the surrogate mother was in good health. Later, Lieu sent pictures of another baby to NTV and her husband, saying that this was their child, born to the surrogate mother.
When Ms. NTV and her husband repeatedly urged Lieu to complete the adoption procedures, Lieu kept making excuses to delay, causing the victims to become suspicious. To confirm, Ms. NTV requested that Lieu send her a sample of the baby's hair so she could have a DNA test done herself.
The DNA test results showed that the baby and Ms. NTV's husband were not related by blood. Immediately, Ms. NTV demanded that Lieu return the money, but the woman refused, so the family filed a complaint with the authorities.
It is known that at the time Lieu committed the act, she was on probation serving a 15-month prison sentence for the crime of organizing commercial surrogacy because she was raising a young child.
Considering the facts and case file, the Trial Panel decided to sentence the defendant Vu Thi Lieu to 8 years imprisonment for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property". Including the unserved sentence, the defendant must serve a total of 9 years and 3 months imprisonment.
