'Reincarnated' as a stolen motorbike, owner of a motorbike shop chain swindles 9.3 billion VND
The investigation agency clarified that Bui Van Tan - owner of Tan Tien motorbike system in Ho Chi Minh City - had defrauded and appropriated 9.3 billion VND from customers by "transforming" stolen motorbikes to sell them as new ones on the market.
The Ho Chi Minh City Police Department of Investigation today (September 19) completed the investigation conclusion and transferred the case file to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy to propose prosecuting Bui Van Tan (41 years old, residing in Hoc Mon district) for the crimes of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" and "Buying and selling documents of agencies and organizations".
Twelve of Tan's accomplices in the case were also proposed to be prosecuted for one of the two above-mentioned crimes.
The investigation agency determined that from 2021 until being discovered in early 2024, Tan had defrauded and appropriated 9.3 billion VND from 258 customers by selling 259 motorbikes that were "reincarnated" from stolen vehicles to sell on the market as new vehicles.
According to the investigation, Bui Van Tan established 4 motorbike shops, including: Tan Tien (in Vinh Loc B commune, Binh Chanh district), Tan Tien 2 (Ba Diem commune, Hoc Mon district), Thao Van motorbike company Ltd. (Tan Thoi Nhat ward, district 12) and Lam Toi motorbike trading company Ltd. (Thuan An city, Binh Duong province). Starting from the end of 2021, Tan conducted fraudulent activities by purchasing motorbikes of illegal origin, without papers, to "magically" transform them into new motorbikes, and then sell them at his shops.
Accordingly, the number of old motorbikes that Tan bought back from classifieds on social networks, from pawnshops... and some other sources, from 18 - 22 million VND/vehicle depending on the type of motorbike, new or old...
Tan also bought a large number of motorcycle factory quality inspection certificates, priced at 500,000 to 1 million VND/certificate from subjects such as: Nguyen Dinh Sung (owner of the Ha Thanh auto-motorcycle store chain, Binh Tan district), Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh (manager of Honda Hong Hanh 4, 5, 6 dealers in Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City), Nguyen Sy Toan (owner of Song Ngan Import-Export Trading Company Limited).
With the stolen car, Tan instructed the staff to remove the license plate and change the cover. Then, Tan asked the staff to deliver the car to Phat Dat auto repair shop (Binh Chanh district) owned by Nguyen Huu Oai (34 years old) and Nguyen Huu Nhu (40 years old).
Here, Oai and Nhu proceeded to grind and punch the new frame and engine numbers to match the frame and engine numbers on the motorcycle's factory quality inspection certificate. Tan paid Oai and Nhu 1 million VND/vehicle.
The cars are then brought to Tan Tien 1 and Tan Tien 2 stores, handed over to technicians to be refurbished into "used" or new cars, and then sold to customers.
Customers trust because there are quality inspection certificates for the motorbikes. Tan also promises customers that they will be able to register their motorbikes. Then, Tan connects with brokers to provide motorbike registration services. Thus, customers who buy and use the motorbikes still think that the motorbikes are legal.
It is known that this case was discovered by the Ho Chi Minh City Police force when coordinating with the Traffic Police Department (C08 - Ministry of Public Security) through the registration and issuance of license plates for motorcycles and motorbikes according to their functions. From the suspicion that some vehicles had their frame and frame numbers ground and chiseled, the police force investigated and discovered the origin of the vehicles being sold at Tan Tien stores owned by Tan.
Police said that this ring had sold thousands of motorbikes to people in provinces and cities across the country. However, so far, the authorities have only identified 258 victims who bought 259 motorbikes and were cheated out of a total of 9.3 billion VND.
