Numerous people were scammed with promises of securing jobs at Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Hoa claimed to be close to many VIPs and could secure security positions at Tan Son Nhat Airport, receiving hundreds of thousands of USD from people seeking to "get jobs" through illicit means.

On January 22, Ho Chi Minh City police arrested Phan The Hoa for the crime of fraud and appropriation of property.

The 47-year-old man reportedly admitted that he didn't know anyone who could "arrange" entry into Tan Son Nhat airport, and that he lied to swindle money from people.

Hoa was arrested on charges of fraud. Photo: Police

According to the investigation, since 2014, Hoa has been accused by 13 people of "arranging" jobs for them in the security screening department at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. He received a total of nearly $150,000 (over 3 billion VND), but none of them have gotten the job.

Early last year, Hoa used the same trick again, promising to get Thanh a job there for 460 million VND. After waiting a long time without results, Thanh tried to meet Hoa, but Hoa avoided him or gave excuses such as: his application had been canceled and needed to be redone, the airport inspectors were checking on it, etc.

Reporting to the police, Thanh said that Hoa threatened to "kill him" when he asked for his money back.

Furthermore, police also accused Hoa of impersonating the Director of the Institute for Environmental and Social Issues Research in Ho Chi Minh City. He forged documents, stamped them with the institute's seal, and sent them to the Ho Chi Minh City Police requesting the issuance of firearms as support tools.

When issued a tear gas gun, Hoa misused it, resulting in its confiscation and a 3 million VND fine.

"Immediately after Hoa's arrest, we received a report from a woman in District 1 who was swindled out of $23,000 and 280 million VND by him under the pretext of securing a job," an investigating officer said.

According to VNE