The 'parents' illness' scenario and the scam of 10 gold bars from a close friend.
Seeing that Mrs. Th. was easily deceived, Pham Anh Nguyet provided a lot of false information, such as her parents being sick and needing money for treatment, and needing to obtain a land title deed to borrow gold and money. Nguyet used the money she defrauded to pay off debts and for personal expenses.
On August 28, the People's Court of Nghe An province held a first-instance trial to hear the case against defendant Pham Anh Nguyet (born in 1992), residing in Tam Dong commune, Nghe An province, for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property.
According to the case file, Pham Anh Nguyet rented a stall in Vinh City (formerly) to sell fruits and vegetables, where she became acquainted with Ms. Pham Thi Th. (born in 1960). Seeing that Ms. Th. was easily trusting, Nguyet conceived the idea of defrauding her.
Initially, Nguyet claimed that her parents were ill and needed money for hospital treatment. Each time she borrowed money or gold, Nguyet wrote promissory notes for the loans with Mrs. Th.
Later, due to business losses, borrowing money from many people, and being pressured to repay debts, Nguyet fabricated another excuse. She gave false information, claiming that her parents had given her a 22-hectare plot of forest land in the former Thanh Chuong district, and that she was in the process of transferring ownership, needing money for the procedures. Nguyet said that someone wanted to buy the land and promised to repay Ms. T. and give her some money after the property was sold.
Trusting Nguyet's words, from February 25, 2024 to April 16, 2024, Ms. Th. gave Nguyet 100 million VND and 10 gold bars (at the time, the gold was valued at over 691 million VND). Nguyet then sold the gold at gold shops to get money for expenses and to pay off debts.
After realizing she had been deceived by Nguyet, Mrs. Th. filed a complaint with the police. Based on the victim's complaint, the police arrested Pham Anh Nguyet. Because Nguyet was pregnant at the time, she was released on bail.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to the fraudulent acts as charged in the indictment. The defendant stated that because Ms. Th. was trusting and easygoing in lending money, he had repeatedly committed acts of fraud. The defendant claimed that the money obtained through fraud had been used to pay off debts for fruit purchases and for personal expenses.
After the incident came to light, the defendant arranged for his family to compensate Ms. Th. with over 260 million VND. The victim demanded that the defendant repay the remaining amount.
The court ruled that the defendant's actions violated the law and infringed upon the property of others. The defendant, despite having full criminal responsibility, used fraudulent means to deceive the victim, and therefore deserves severe punishment.
After a comprehensive review of the case, the panel of judges sentenced the defendant Pham Anh Nguyet to 11 years in prison for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property". Regarding civil matters, the court ordered the defendant to return the money to the victim (after deducting the amount already paid as compensation).
