The belated repentance of a former doctor who lost everything because of fraud.

Losing billions of dong trying to get their children into medical school.

Around November 2018, Ms. Tran Thi Kim H. (residing in Vinh City) took her son to Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy to submit an application and met Tran Van Quan (born in 1987), also residing in Vinh City.

During their meeting and conversation, Quân introduced himself as working at the Central Military Hospital 108, claiming to have close ties with the university's principal, and assured her that he could help her child get admitted to the university for a fee of 350 million VND. Trusting him, Ms. H. quickly handed Quân the full amount. After receiving the 350 million VND, Quân did nothing related to the entrance exam or attending the university, instead spending the money on personal expenses.

After spending all the money, Quân contacted Mrs. H., persuading her to switch to a different school for her son, as it would be more convenient for commuting. Quân promised that after graduation, her son would get a job at the Central Military Hospital 108, on the condition that she pay an additional 650 million VND. Without any suspicion, Mrs. H. gave Quân the full amount within three months.

Having discussed it beforehand, Quân gave Trần Anh Tuấn (born in 1984), residing in Xuân Hải commune, Nghi Xuân district (Hà Tĩnh province), a doctor working at the Nghệ An Vaccination Center, 340 million VND "to ensure his successful application," while the remaining money was spent on personal expenses. Tuấn also spent all the money after receiving it from Quân.

After spending billions of dong, Mrs. H. was convinced her child had been accepted into medical school and would have the job of their dreams. However, after waiting for a long time without seeing her child enroll, she became worried.

The woman kept urging and asking Quân for the reason. At this point, Quân and Tuấn came up with another way to extort money, asking Mrs. H. to give them an additional 100 million VND to "secure" admission to a prestigious medical university in Thái Bình. As before, Mrs. H. immediately transferred the money to Quân's account.

During the trial, Tran Anh Tuan repeatedly sat with his hands clasped and his head bowed. Photo: Tran Vu

To deceive Ms. H. in December 2020, Tuan hired a woman (whose name and address are unknown) to forge an admission notice and then sent a picture of the notice to Quan, who then sent it to Ms. H. Seeing her child with the admission notice, the mother was overjoyed, unaware that she had fallen into a scam. Only after a long wait did she realize she had been deceived and filed a report with the police.

Ms. H. is just one of many victims in the scam perpetrated by Tran Anh Tuan and Tran Van Quan. Tuan is the chief doctor working at the Nghe An Vaccination Center, while Quan does not have a stable job. Although neither of them had the authority or responsibility to arrange employment, they conspired to accept money from job seekers, recruit them for work, or enroll them in training programs at various agencies, units, and organizations such as Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company, Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Military Central Hospital 108, Nghe An Tax Department, etc.

They both agreed that Quân would be responsible for finding and receiving money from workers, while Tuấn would hire people to create fake employee ID cards, name stamps for Quân, fake employment contracts, contract addendums, and fake interview evaluation forms… to provide to Quân for use. Quân would then forward these fake employment contracts to the victims for review to gain their trust.

Defendants Tuan (right) and Quan at the court. Photo: Tran Vu

Between December 2018 and March 2021, when approaching victims, Quan introduced himself as working in the human resources recruitment department of Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company, claiming to have close ties with company leaders and guaranteeing job placements for applicants. He then demanded payment from the applicants.

The defendants' actions were very sophisticated; they rented a large hall right in the center of Vinh city to organize fake job interviews. These interviews were meticulously arranged by Tuan and Quan, resembling real recruitment interviews, thus gaining the victims' trust.

In addition, Quân introduced himself as someone who knew many leaders in various agencies and departments, and who could help people find jobs or get into universities.

The investigating agency determined that Quan and Tuan jointly committed 18 acts of fraud to secure jobs and admission to universities for 51 workers and students, embezzling over 3.67 billion VND. Of this amount, Quan embezzled over 2.2 billion VND, and Tuan embezzled nearly 1.4 billion VND.

Repentance oforiginalchief doctor

At the trial, defendants Tran Anh Tuan and Tran Van Quan, charged with fraud and misappropriation of property, both sincerely admitted their criminal acts. They both acknowledged having no authority or responsibility in job placement but conspired to defraud numerous people for personal gain.

Throughout the trial, Tuan's hands were often clasped together, his head bowed, showing remorse. "Because I was consumed by greed, I lost myself, lost my job, and brought shame to my family and parents," Tuan stated in court. In the presence of his relatives and the victims, Tuan choked back tears as he said, "I have wronged my family. My parents raised me, provided for my education, and helped me become a doctor. I should have cultivated my ethics and professionalism to treat and save lives, but because of greed, I committed fraud, causing great financial and emotional losses to many people. I sincerely apologize to the victims."

The victims attended the trial. Photo: Tran Vu

After the incident came to light, Tuan only then did he influence his family to partially compensate the victims for their losses. At the trial, the victims requested that the two defendants return the entire amount of money they had embezzled.

Considering that in this case, defendant Tuan has many mitigating circumstances such as honest confession and remorse. Furthermore, during his career, defendant Tuan had many outstanding achievements, receiving a Certificate of Merit from the Central Executive Committee of the Vietnam Red Cross Society, and his father was a revolutionary hero who received the Third Class Labor Medal from the State. Therefore, the court sentenced defendant Tran Anh Tuan to 10 years in prison. Meanwhile, Tran Van Quan received a 16-year prison sentence, both for the crime of fraud and appropriation of property.

Tuan once had wealth, fame, and a job many people dreamed of, but he lost it all because of greed and chasing after money…