Nghe An: Arrested a group of people who rented 27 self-driving cars and then sold and mortgaged them

On September 22, Quynh Luu District Police (Nghe An) announced that, under the direction of the Provincial Police, the unit had just successfully broken up a case, initially arresting a group of 02 subjects for the acts of fraud, appropriation of property and consumption of property obtained by others through crime. Thereby, clarifying the amount of money the subjects appropriated was more than 15 billion VND; confiscating 22 cars and many related exhibits.

The couple of "successful young entrepreneurs"

Recently, through professional work and basic investigation, Quynh Luu District Police discovered a suspicious ring related to criminal activities of renting cars and then forging car papers to mortgage to appropriate property in the area.

During the verification, the police determined that this was a professional network, operating in a closed manner from hiring to forging documents and then pawning. The subjects not only committed crimes in Nghe An province but also in many areas of Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa provinces...

Quynh Luu district police met to discuss the case. Photo: Hong Ngoc

Identifying this as a group of fraudsters who used very sophisticated methods to appropriate property, the amount of money appropriated from the victims amounted to tens of billions of dong, the fraud activities took place over a long period of time causing outrage among the people, Quynh Luu District Police reported to the Provincial Police leaders to establish a special project to fight.

After collecting all documents and evidence, the Investigation Police Agency of Quynh Luu District Police decided to crack the case, simultaneously searching 27 locations in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh provinces... Notably, in just a short time, the authorities seized 22 cars as evidence of the case to handle according to the provisions of law.

The ringleaders are Dau Duc Bang (born 1991), residing in Quynh Van commune, Quynh Luu district, and Nguyen Ngoc Tinh (born 1991), residing in Quynh Xuan ward, Hoang Mai town. Bang and Tinh both do not have stable jobs, but because they love to play, compete, and do not work hard, they thought of ways to scam people to make money.

The ringleader Dau Duc Bang. Photo: Hong Ngoc

Through social relationships, Bang and Tinh met Ho Trong Tam (born in 1989), residing in Ngoc Son commune, Quynh Luu district. Tam was well-educated but because he wanted to make money quickly, he chose to become an "assistant" for Bang and Tinh.

During the investigation, the police determined that Bang and Tinh played a key role in renting the car. To gain the victim's trust, the suspects posed as successful young businessmen who specialized in large projects. The couple went online to search for companies and stores that specialize in renting self-driving cars in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh and many other provinces and cities.

Quynh Luu District Police worked with Bang about the process of buying and selling cars at car rental establishments. Photo: Hong Ngoc

After renting them, they brought them to Nghe An and forged documents such as vehicle purchase and sale papers, vehicle transfer papers, and vehicle purchase and sale authorization papers, then sold them to Ho Trong Tam to split the money. It is worth mentioning that, although he knew that Bang and Tinh's cars were obtained through fraud, Tam still agreed to buy them for between 150 million and 300 million VND per car.

Rent a car at a high price… then pawn it

To create a cover for themselves to avoid suspicion from the victims, in addition to pretending to be successful young businessmen, the key point, Bang and Tinh made the victims not know they were being deceived, is that they often rented cars at high prices, long-term contracts, and paid on time.

In addition, Bang and Tinh were willing to pay for rentals many months in advance, so the victims were often not suspicious. Therefore, in addition to regular vehicles, Bang and Tinh were also able to rent vehicles worth nearly 1.2 billion VND. The rental price ranged from 600,000 VND/day to 1,200,000 VND/day. The rental contract was often long, so by the time the subjects were arrested, almost no victim knew that their vehicle had had its documents forged, sold, or mortgaged to someone else.

Quynh Luu District Police worked with Bang about the process of buying and selling cars at car rental establishments. Photo: Hong Ngoc

After investigating, verifying, and clarifying the criminal acts of the subjects, the Provincial Police leaders directly directed the Quynh Luu District Police to solve the case. On September 17, 2022, the working groups of the Quynh Luu District Police arrested Dau Duc Bang for fraud and Ho Trong Tam for receiving property obtained by others through crime. The detectives also searched many related locations, confiscating 03 cars, documents, and evidence related to the subjects' criminal acts.

During the investigation, up to now, the Investigation Police Agency of Quynh Luu District Police has seized 22 cars of various types and many types of documents related to the crime. Quynh Luu District Police is continuing to coordinate with related units to seize the remaining 05 cars that the subjects have mortgaged.

The police seized the evidence of the case. Photo: Hong Ngoc

Currently, the Investigation Police Agency of Quynh Luu District Police is temporarily detaining Dau Duc Bang for fraud and Ho Trong Tam for receiving property obtained by others through crime, while continuing to investigate and expand the case.

Nguyen Ngoc Tinh is currently being detained by Hoang Mai Town Police (Nghe An) in connection with another case.

Quynh Luu District Police announced that any victims related to the above case should promptly report to Quynh Luu District Police for coordination in resolving the case./.