Foreign man 'sets traps' for many Vietnamese women

A Nigerian man took to social media to "transform" into a tycoon, an American military officer... and his accomplices to swindle money from dozens of Vietnamese women.

Michael and his accomplices listen to the verdict. Photo: Cuu Long.

On December 14, Can Tho City People's Court held a first-instance trial and sentenced Micheal Ikechukwu Leonard (45 years old, Nigerian nationality) to 18 years in prison for fraud and appropriation of property.For the same crime, three accomplices Huynh Ha Uyen, Nguyen Tran Quynh Nhi, Huynh Ha Binh (all living in Ho Chi Minh City) received sentences of 12 to 15 years in prison.

According to the records, in August 2014, Binh got to know Michael on social media and then moved to Cambodia to live together as husband and wife. The two opened a store specializing in importing clothes from Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam for resale.

During this time, some of Michael's friends from different countries came to visit, including a social media scammer named Landlord (unknown background).Binh and Micheal asked to join the scam ring. Nhi and Uyen (Binh's younger sister) also joined.

Every day, Michael goes on Facebook to meet Vietnamese women. He "transforms" himself into a successful man, a businessman, an American military officer... but his married life is unlucky.

When he knew that his "prey" was well-off, had money, and was single... Micheal confessed his love and wanted to get married. To gain trust, the foreign man said he would send a "gift box" including valuable items such as: laptop, cell phone, jewelry and cosmetics... from the US to Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Binh, Uyen, and Nhi pretended to be customs officers and reportedIn the gift box, there was a lot of foreign currency, forcing the recipient to pay fees or fines. The victims trusted and transferred money to the gang's account.

At the end of March 2016, after defrauding a woman in Can Tho of nearly 650 million VND, Michael and three accomplicesin turnThe investigation revealed that in about a year, this group of people had defrauded 37 women nationwide, appropriating nearly 5.3 billion VND.

At the trial, the defendants all admitted their crimes.

According to VNE