Former deputy secretary of a ward sentenced to 12 years in prison for defrauding over 2 billion VND.

After being accused of fraud and misappropriation of assets, the former Deputy Secretary of Phu Cat Ward fled and did not report to work. In total, 11 victims were ensnared in the scam, losing over 2 billion VND.

On September 15th, the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Court opened a trial to hear the case of Nguyen Van Tung (53 years old, residing in Phu Cat Ward, Hue City; former deputy secretary of the ward) on charges of fraud and appropriation of property.

According to the indictment, in late 2010, Tung met Nguyen Gia Binh (33 years old, residing in Phu Cat ward, Hue City). Tung lied, claiming that he owned a 200 m2 plot of land on Trinh Cong Son street, granted by the Hue City People's Committee, and wanted to transfer ownership.

To gain Mr. Binh's trust, Tung forged Notice No. 1423/UBND-TB dated November 15, 2011, from the People's Committee of Hue City by drafting a document. Tung printed it out, cut out the part of the document containing the seal of the People's Committee of Hue City and the signature of the former Chairman of Hue City, Mr. Phan Trong Vinh, pasted it onto the lower part of the document he drafted, then photocopied it and gave the photocopy to Mr. Binh.

Former Deputy Secretary of Phu Cat Ward, Hue City, sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud. Photo: Dien Quang

Trusting Tùng, the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Phú Cát ward, Mr. Bình repeatedly handed over money to the defendant, totaling 595 million VND, to buy a plot of land. Using similar tactics, Tùng also defrauded Mr. Lê Văn Hoàng (45 years old, Huế City) of 210 million VND.

Furthermore, taking advantage of his connections, Tung claimed he could secure jobs at various agencies and organizations within the province. In total, Tung received money from nine people and embezzled over 1.4 billion VND.

Immediately after his fraudulent activities were exposed, Tung fled the area and did not report to the ward office for several days.

On June 1, 2015, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Hue City issued a decision to terminate Tung's employment. On October 14, 2015, the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial Police Department initiated legal proceedings and issued a (special) wanted notice against Nguyen Van Tung for the crime of fraud and appropriation of property.

On November 3, 2015, the Hue City Party Committee's Inspection Committee issued a decision to discipline Tung by expelling him from the Party. On November 27, 2015, Tung was arrested by the police.

The court sentenced Tung to 12 years in prison for fraud and ordered him to pay nearly 1.8 billion VND in compensation to 11 victims.

According to Zing.vn