Impersonating government officials to swindle billions of dong.
The perpetrators would impersonate officers or soldiers to befriend women, and after developing romantic relationships, they would commit fraud to steal their property.
On February 5th, Colonel Lam Van Long, Deputy Director of the Binh Phuoc Provincial Police, announced that functional units of the Provincial Police had solved the case of "Fraudulent appropriation of property"They used inter-provincial fraud tactics, impersonating government officials to commit fraud."
Through local area management, the Criminal Police Department of Binh Phuoc Provincial Police discovered an individual exhibiting suspicious behavior related to the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property." The suspect falsely claimed to be a police officer or soldier, acquainted with many high-ranking officials working in central and local agencies; able to secure jobs, obtain various permits, secure large bank loans, and even "fix legal cases"... all with the aim of deceiving people for both money and affection.
Through verification, the police identified the suspect as Nguyen Nhu Luc (born in 1968, residing in Ward 13, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City). On November 14, 2023, Ms. Nguyen TB (born in 1970) and Mr. Nguyen NM (born in 1973), both residing in Dong Xoai City, Binh Phuoc Province, filed a complaint with the Criminal Police Department accusing Nguyen Nhu Luc of "fraudulent appropriation of property." Specifically, Ms. B. was defrauded of 1.622 billion VND through a request for a bank loan, while Mr. M. was defrauded of 500 million VND through a request for a license to open a car dealership.
On November 17, 2023, the Investigating Police Agency issued an emergency arrest warrant and conducted an emergency search of Nguyen Nhu Luc. Luc confessed to his crimes as described in the complaints filed by the two victims. During the search of Nguyen Nhu Luc's residence, the police seized numerous documents and evidence demonstrating his criminal activities. They also confiscated several identity cards, citizen identification cards, and driver's licenses belonging to Nguyen Nhu Luc, suspected of being forged. In his phone, Nguyen Nhu Luc had saved the names of his wife and acquaintances, including names of police officers, court officials, and prosecutors… to show to his victims when they called, in order to deceive them and facilitate his fraud.
In addition to the two instances of defrauding Ms. B. and Mr. M. in Binh Phuoc province, Luc also confessed to using various other methods to defraud seven other people in provinces and cities nationwide, with the total amount of money Luc admitted to stealing exceeding 9.4 billion VND.
Regarding his methods and tactics, Luc provided false information such as working at Party and State agencies at the central and local levels; being a director of companies; claiming to be a police officer or soldier; and having connections with many high-ranking officials working in ministries, departments, and agencies from the central to local levels, thus being able to "fix cases," secure jobs, obtain various licenses and certificates, and secure large bank loans... with the aim of defrauding people. On November 22, 2023, the Investigating Police Agency decided to initiate a criminal case, indict the suspect, and issue a 4-month detention order against Nguyen Nhu Luc to continue the expanded investigation of the case.
Luc's targets were naive and gullible women aged 30 to 50 with relatively good financial conditions. Luc's criminal activities spanned a long period, always involving careful planning and preparation. His operations were professional, employing various methods to approach and befriend victims, fostering romantic relationships before defrauding them. Luc committed numerous "fraudulent appropriation of property" cases involving large sums of money across various provinces and cities nationwide.
