Prosecution initiated against suspect who impersonated a health inspector to commit fraud.
By impersonating Phan Thanh Hai, an inspector from the Department of Health, Nguyen Van Tam used the tactic of calling people with bone and joint diseases, inquiring about their health, and then offering to sell them medicine. He defrauded many people and stole over 1 billion VND.
On the evening of March 25th, the Hanoi City Police announced that they have initiated criminal proceedings and detained Nguyen Van Tam (born in 1999, residing in Yen Yen, Nam Dinh, temporarily living in Tay Mo ward, Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi) for investigation into the crime of fraud and appropriation of property.
The police determined that Tam frequently called people suffering from bone and joint diseases, impersonating Phan Thanh Hai – an inspector from the Department of Health, inquiring about the patients' health and the medications they were using.
Subsequently, the imposter offered to sell "Calcium" and "Phuc Cot Don" medicines from "Long Huong Pagoda" or "Health Support Center" at prices ranging from 1 to 3 million VND per prescription (1-3 boxes of medicine), along with a "Warranty Card".
The distinctive feature of this card is that the front (yellow) reads: "Warranty Card for the Health of Vietnamese People." A compensation of 50 million VND will be given if the customer discovers any harmful substances in the product. The back (white) contains: Customer information and phone number.
Tam offers a commitment to providing high-dose, intensive medication that will completely cure and prevent recurrence, improving over 90% of the condition (if not, the pharmacy will provide free support until the condition is completely cured), and will refund up to 80% of the treatment cost if the condition does not improve.
The imposter, posing as a health department inspector, delivered medication to patients via EMS Vietnam or Viettel Post services, having the delivery staff collect payment on his behalf.
Next, the perpetrators tricked patients into participating in a program to obtain a medical record book for free check-ups at central hospitals, or promised a one-time financial assistance ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of VND.
However, Tam also stipulated that people had to deposit registration fees or value-added tax into a bank account. The police determined that Tam had defrauded and misappropriated more than 1 billion VND from many people.
