41 people prosecuted for real estate company setting up 'ghost project' to commit fraud

On June 11, the Investigation Police Agency of Dong Nai Province issued a decision to prosecute 41 accomplices related to Loc Phuc Company (34 Tien Giang Street, Ward 2, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City).

These subjects were accused of "fraudulent appropriation of property" under Article 174 of the Penal Code.

Previously, at the end of August 2023, the authorities caught Loc Phuc Company opening a virtual real estate trading floor on an empty lot in An Vien commune, Trang Bom district (Dong Nai) to defraud and appropriate customers' assets.

At the scene, the police controlled 186 related subjects, including 143 subjects who were the General Director, company employees, people hired to pretend to be customers and 43 victims.

At the same time, the authorities searched the company’s headquarters and seized many related files and documents. Through the investigation, the police identified Huynh Huu Tuong (32 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City) as the mastermind and leader of the organization that defrauded customers; therefore, this subject was urgently arrested.

According to the investigation, a plot of land costs only a few hundred million VND, but Loc Phuc Company has drawn up a project and advertised it for sale at a price of 2-3 billion VND. When 'gathering' customers from Ho Chi Minh City, the company will take them to see the "project land" in Dong Nai province. These "ghost projects" are drawn up very attractively such as: near the highway, near the industrial park, near Long Thanh airport... Loc Phuc Company uses tricks and methods to force customers to pay deposits, then seize their property.

To avoid responsibility, Tuong hired Nguyen Van An (27 years old, from Tay Ninh) to be the company's General Director. Every month, Loc Phuc Company defrauded and illegally profited tens of billions of dong.

To date, the Dong Nai Provincial Police Department has prosecuted 88 suspects related to the fraud of Loc Phuc Company. At the same time, the investigation agency is urgently investigating and clarifying the criminal acts of each subject to handle them according to the provisions of the law.