The trick used by a "pair of accomplices" in Nghe An to steal rented cars.
Having suffered losses from stock market investments and accumulating massive debts, Pham Dinh The and Tran Dinh Hao conspired to rent self-driving cars and then used forged documents to pawn or sell them, thereby defrauding billions of dong.
On July 29, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance trial to hear the cases of defendants Pham Dinh The (born in 1991, residing in Bach Ngoc commune) and Tran Dinh Hao (born in 1992, residing in Tan Ky commune) on charges of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" and "Using forged documents of agencies and organizations".
The two defendants, Tran Thi Thuy (born in 1984) and Pham Huu Son (born in 1977), both residing in Tan Ky commune, were prosecuted for the crime of "Forging documents of agencies and organizations".
According to the indictment, The and Hao became acquainted through the repair and sale of automobiles. In late April 2025, needing money to pay debts and for personal expenses, the two defendants conspired to rent cars from self-drive rental companies, then forge vehicle registration papers to pawn or sell them for money.
To carry out the scheme, after renting the car, The provided information and images of the vehicle's documents to the perpetrators four times to forge the vehicle registration certificate. With the forged documents, the defendant used the car to pawn or sell it to embezzle money.
Similarly, Hao twice provided information and images of vehicle documents to create forged vehicle registration certificates, which were then used for buying, selling, mortgaging, and pledging vehicles.
The investigating agency determined that from April to June 2025, The and Hao jointly committed 5 fraud cases using the aforementioned method. In addition, The committed 4 more cases, and Hao committed 2 more cases independently.
Accordingly, The must bear criminal responsibility for the misappropriation of over 2.2 billion VND; Hao must bear criminal responsibility for the misappropriation of over 1.6 billion VND.
In connection with the case, Tran Thi Thuy directly printed and completed 3 fake vehicle registration certificates, earning an illegal profit of 90,000 VND. Pham Huu Son printed and completed 1 fake vehicle registration certificate, earning an illegal profit of 30,000 VND.
At the trial, The testified that due to losses from stock market investments and debt pressure, he came up with the idea of renting self-driving cars and then pawning or selling them. The defendant stated that his family had fully compensated the victims for their losses. Hao testified that he and The committed the crime because they needed money for expenses.
The two defendants, Thuy and Son, admitted knowing that forging documents was against the law but still committed the act. At the trial, both defendants expressed remorse and regret.
After a comprehensive review of the case, the panel of judges sentenced Pham Dinh The and Tran Dinh Hao each to 12 years in prison for "Fraudulent appropriation of property" and 2 years in prison for "Using forged documents of an agency or organization," resulting in a combined sentence of 14 years in prison for each defendant.
Defendant Tran Thi Thuy was sentenced to 2 years in prison for the crime of "Forging documents of agencies and organizations"; defendant Pham Huu Son was fined 50 million VND for the same crime.
