Despite only having completed the 7th grade, he impersonated a police officer, lawyer, and journalist to scam unsuspecting people.
Tran Van Tri is accused of impersonating a police officer, lawyer, and journalist to defraud people of billions of dong in many provinces and cities. The police have issued a notice seeking victims in these cases.
On July 16th, the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Ba Ria City Police (Ba Ria - Vung Tau) announced that it had issued a notice seeking victims in a "Fraudulent appropriation of property" case that occurred in Kim Dinh ward, committed by Mr. Tran Van Tri (47 years old, residing in Ham Thuan Bac district, Binh Thuan province).
Mr. Tran Van Tri has been identified as using the tactic of impersonating a police colonel, lawyer, and journalist to promise jobs to many people in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, subsequently defrauding them of nearly 1 billion VND.
On July 8th, Mr. Tri was arrested at an accommodation facility in Tran Phu ward, Quang Ngai city, and then transferred to Ba Ria - Vung Tau for investigation.
According to initial investigations, in July 2021, the Ba Ria City Police received numerous complaints from residents in Kim Dinh ward regarding Mr. Tran Van Tri's fraudulent activities involving the appropriation of property.
Accordingly, Mr. Tri introduced himself as a police officer, lawyer, journalist, and overseas Vietnamese to exploit some acquaintances to establish Phat Tai Loc Company and Dai Phat Loc Company, thereby gaining the trust of many people in Ba Ria City.
Taking advantage of the real estate market boom, Mr. Tri met with and promised to help many people with land and house ownership documents and land subdivision, receiving a total of nearly 1 billion VND. However, Mr. Tri did not fulfill his promises and fled the area after receiving the money.
The Criminal Investigation Department of the Ba Ria City Police repeatedly sent summonses to Mr. Tri, but he failed to appear for questioning, so they issued a notice to search for him.
On July 8th, Mr. Tri was discovered and arrested by the Tran Phu Ward Police in Quang Ngai City along with two police uniforms bearing the rank of colonel, one pair of handcuffs, one fake gun, and numerous documents, including lawyer's certificates and a journalist's card bearing the name Tran Van Tri, who was operating in the area.
Here, Mr. Tri confessed to using a similar impersonation tactic to deceive a resident in Quang Ngai City who wanted to secure a job at an agency under the Ministry of Public Security in the South, for a fee of 100 million VND, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
In addition, Mr. Tri confessed to defrauding many people in Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Binh Thuan provinces of a total of more than 7 billion VND.
After receiving Tri from the Quang Ngai City Police, the Ba Ria City Police escorted him to the headquarters for questioning.
During the investigation, the suspect Tri confessed that he only studied up to the 7th grade, had no profession, and all his documents and diplomas were forged. He admitted that he was incapable of handling the procedures for subdividing land and obtaining new land ownership certificates, but he still promised to do so to swindle money from gullible people.
Currently, the Investigation Police Department of Ba Ria City has initiated criminal proceedings and temporarily detained Tran Van Tri for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property".
To assist in the expanded investigation of the case, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ba Ria City Police requests that anyone who is a victim of Tran Van Tri promptly contact and provide documents and records to the unit so that their rights can be protected and their cases resolved according to regulations.
