Many cases of renting cars and then pawning them in Nghe An have been exposed.

In several cases involving renting cars and then pawning them that occurred in Nghe An province, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court has tried many of them. One notable example is the first-instance criminal trial of defendant Dang Anh Tuan (born in 1985), residing in Trung Phuc Cuong commune, Nam Dan district, on the charge of "Abusing trust to appropriate property," which took place on July 27th.

Dang Anh Tuan at the trial. Photo courtesy of Kim Long.

According to the indictment, on February 10, 2020, needing a vehicle for timber trading, Tuan went to a company in Vinh City and met with the director, L., to rent a Ford Ranger pickup truck (valued at 550 million VND) to travel to Dak Nong. The two parties signed a rental contract for 20 days at a price of 800,000 VND per day.

On February 29th, after the rental period expired, Mr. L. called Tuan to request the return of the vehicle and payment. Due to business losses and lack of funds, Tuan requested an extension of one month, which the rental company agreed to. During this time, wanting money to buy wood to pay off his debts, Tuan mortgaged the vehicle to a person named A. for 129 million VND for a period of one month.

When the payment deadline arrived and Mr. L repeatedly demanded the return of the car and the rental fee, Tuan conceived the idea of ​​pawning the car to someone else. On May 10th, through Mr. A, Dang Anh Tuan lied and pawned the car to Ms. H for 150 million VND. Tuan used almost all of the money to pay off the car loan, and the rest for personal expenses. When the repayment deadline arrived, he was unable to repay the debt and absconded. Mr. L subsequently filed a complaint against Dang Anh Tuan with the police.

At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime. Tuan testified that he had lost money trading timber, which led him to pawn the car to get cash, and that he had no intention of doing so when he initially rented the car. The court determined that the defendant's actions violated the law and sentenced Dang Anh Tuan to 8 years in prison.

A car rental shop in Vinh City. Photo: Quang An

It is evident that, driven by public demand, self-drive car rental businesses are proliferating. According to incomplete statistics, Vinh City alone has over 20 such businesses. However, many of these businesses are quite negligent, paying little attention to customer background checks, and their management is lax. This creates loopholes that allow unscrupulous individuals to exploit car rentals for pawning purposes, a practice that is becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated.

According to the owner of a car rental business, the rental procedure is simple for regular customers, but for new customers, when they contact to rent a self-drive car, they usually leave their ID card or household registration book, motorbike, or some money as collateral.

However, in reality, this does not prevent the risks, as the documents may be fake, or the assets and money left behind may be insignificant compared to the value of the vehicle. Notably, further enabling those who rent vehicles to pawn or mortgage them is the lax procedures at many pawn shops, sometimes without even knowing the origin of the asset, simply valuing it before lending.

Rental prices for self-drive cars at a facility in Vinh City. Photo: Quang An

Lieutenant Colonel Tran Duc Than - Head of the Criminal Police Department (Nghe An Provincial Police) said: Recovering assets in these cases is quite difficult, because most of the cars have had their GPS tracking devices removed and have been pawned or sold in various places.

For example, in early September 2021, a special operation resulted in the arrest of 4 suspects and the seizure of 6 cars and 12 types of fake documents, including ID cards, vehicle registration certificates, and driver's licenses.

The investigation revealed that, starting in late April 2021, the suspects conspired to defraud people by purchasing fake identity documents online to rent self-driving cars. They impersonated directors of construction companies, using fake documents including ID cards and driver's licenses, and then went to self-driving car rental businesses in Vinh City and Quynh Luu District to sign rental contracts.

After renting the vehicles, the suspects continued to buy and use fake documents such as vehicle registration certificates and inspection certificates, all under their names, to pawn or sell the vehicles at pawn shops and households in Nghe An, Lang Son, and Hai Duong provinces. Each vehicle was sold or pawned for between 200 million and 600 million VND.

“This is a criminal gang operating with sophisticated methods and a vast area, posing many difficulties for the investigation. However, the unit has concentrated its forces to successfully combat the case, and has now recovered 6 vehicles of various types, proving that the suspects committed fraud and misappropriated assets totaling more than 3 billion VND,” said Lieutenant Colonel Tran Duc Than.

The special operation resulted in the arrest of 4 suspects and the seizure of 6 cars and 12 types of fake documents, including ID cards, vehicle registration certificates, and driver's licenses, in early September 2021. (Photo: Duc Vu)

Thus, it can be seen that the practice of renting cars and then pawning them, although not a new trick, still traps many businesses. Therefore, to avoid becoming the next victims, self-drive car rental businesses must maintain a high level of vigilance.

First, it is necessary to clearly identify the identity of the person renting the vehicle, along with the purpose, intended use, and schedule. Vehicles should not be entrusted to suspicious individuals. Rental vehicles must be secured by a deposit of equal value, accompanied by necessary documents, and a contract outlining the rights and obligations of both parties in accordance with the law.

To be more thorough, the rental contract should be signed at a notary office, which has the expertise to verify personal documents and clearly state the confirmation of both parties in the contract's content. Simultaneously, along with installing a vehicle tracking system, during the rental period, the vehicle owner should regularly exchange information with the renter to know the vehicle's status. If there is any suspicion of fraud or misappropriation of property, the vehicle owner should promptly report it to the nearest police station to prevent and handle the matter according to the law.

Depending on the nature and severity of the crime, a person who rents a vehicle and then pawns it may be prosecuted for "Fraudulent appropriation of property" (Article 174, Penal Code) or "Abuse of trust to appropriate property" (Article 175, Penal Code). The methods of appropriating property in these two crimes are completely different. The penalties for fraud are more severe than those for abuse of trust to appropriate property.