Nghe An: Warning issued about the use of fake land ownership certificates for fraud.

Using fake land ownership certificates to commit fraud.

On November 8th, the Criminal Investigation Department of Yen Thanh District Police announced that they are temporarily detaining Le Xuan The (born in 1995), residing in Tang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, for investigation into the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property". According to the investigation, due to a lack of money for expenses and gambling, The conceived the idea of ​​placing an order.forging documents, including the land use right certificate, which they then pawn at a pawn shop or mortgage to an acquaintance in order to misappropriate the property.

Police officers in Yen Thanh district inspect forged documents, evidence in a case involving suspect Le Xuan The. (Photo: Hong Ngoc)

Acting on his plan, in July 2022, Le Xuan The used the Facebook account "The Binh" to search for and connect with people online with the intention of forging land use right certificates. After agreeing on the price, five days after "ordering," The received the fake land use right certificate and used it as collateral to an acquaintance, Mr. L.D.B. (born in 1975), residing in Xuan Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, for 200 million VND. In August 2022, using the same method, after receiving the fake land use right certificate ordered online, The used it to contact a resident in Son Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, to borrow 300 million VND, and then misappropriated the entire amount.

The actions of The did not escape the notice of the authorities. At 5 PM on November 2, 2022, the special task force of the Yen Thanh District Police arrested Le Xuan The for "Fraudulent appropriation of property". At the police station, faced with irrefutable evidence, Le Xuan The confessed to his crime.

Previously, on May 11, 2022, the Criminal Police Department of the Provincial Police arrested Au Thi Thanh Hang (born in 1996), residing in Vinh Tan Ward, Vinh City, for fraud and appropriation of property. They seized and temporarily detained two land use right certificates in the name of Au Thi Thanh Hang (which Hang forged), one deposit contract for land transfer, one Mercedes car, and many documents related to real estate business activities.

Evidence seized in the case related to suspect Au Thi Thanh Hang. Photo: Hong Ngoc

At the police station, Hang initially confessed that, seeing the recent land boom in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, with many people investing in and trading real estate, she created a "cover" of a successful real estate businesswoman to solicit investment from investors. To build trust and defraud people of large sums of money, Hang forged land purchase and sale deposit contracts and land use right certificates, then transferred them to those who invested in land with her.

Using the above methods, the police initially determined that from January 2022 to the present, Au Thi Thanh Hang used two forged land use right certificates to defraud Ms. PTMH (born in 1991), residing in Hoang Mai district, Hanoi, of nearly 8 billion VND.

Maintain vigilance.

The above are just two of many cases involving the forgery of land use right certificates to defraud and misappropriate property. This reality stems from the fact that it is not difficult to find addresses that produce fake documents, as many Facebook and Zalo pages openly offer to "make pink certificates" and "red certificates" with a guarantee of 100% similarity to the real ones. According to Mr. Le Tuan Anh, a notary at Vinh Notary Office: "Currently, fake documents are appearing frequently, and notary offices have discovered quite a few cases. Especially with land use right certificates, if notaries lack experience, it will be difficult to distinguish between real and fake because the forgery is now very sophisticated."

The police in Yen Thanh district are working with suspect Le Xuan The. (Photo: Hong Ngoc)

Regarding this issue, the Vinh City Branch of the Land Registration Office (Nghe An Province Land Registration Office) has also warned about the continuous occurrence of forged land use right certificates and house ownership certificates used to carry out real estate transactions to seize assets. Accordingly, the Vinh City Branch of the Land Registration Office advises those receiving land use right and house ownership transfers to investigate several pieces of information related to the transferred land and house. These include: whether the land use right certificate and house ownership certificate are legal (whether they are forged or subject to a cancellation decision); whether the current location, size, and area of ​​the land plot match the certificate; whether there are any disputes over the land plot; whether any part (or the entire) of the land plot has been reclaimed; and whether there have been any changes to the land plot's planning. The transferee can contact the People's Committee of the ward or commune where the land is located, or the Vinh City Branch of the Land Registration Office, to obtain the information.

Currently, the practice of mortgaging assets, jointly investing in real estate, and the transfer of land use rights and apartment ownership rights are prevalent in many localities in the province, especially in Vinh City and coastal areas such as Nghi Loc district, Cua Lo town, Hoang Mai town, and Dien Chau district. In these cases, those mortgaging assets, jointly investing in real estate, or receiving transfers often fail to thoroughly investigate information related to land use right certificates and house ownership rights. This loophole allows fraudsters to forge land use right certificates to deceive and seize assets.

The police are working with the suspect Au Thi Thanh Hang. (Photo: Hong Ngoc)

Therefore, given the explosion of document forgery technology and the development of the internet, the police recommend that people be highly vigilant. Avoid conducting land transactions through social media platforms and carefully examine all documents related to the property before deciding to transact. Ideally, when conducting transactions, go to a notary office or the district/city land registration office to verify the accuracy of the land use right certificate, ownership of housing and assets attached to the land.

At the same time, to prevent crimes involving the forgery of land use right certificates to seize property, land administration officials or those involved need to facilitate and promptly process requests from citizens seeking information related to land and housing. Notary offices and the People's Committees of communes and wards need to strictly check the legal validity of land use right certificates and housing ownership certificates provided by citizens, thereby detecting forgery cases early and coordinating with relevant authorities for timely handling.