Deep in debt, the guy who rented a self-drive car pawned it.
Burdened with debt, Nguyen Ngoc Sam devised a scheme to defraud people by renting self-driving cars and then pawning them. This man committed five fraudulent acts, involving assets worth over 1.4 billion VND.
On August 19th, the People's Court of Nghe An province held a first-instance trial to hear the case against defendant Nguyen Ngoc Sam (35 years old), residing in Vinh Phu ward, Nghe An province, for the crime of...Fraudulent appropriation of property.
According to the case file, due to business losses and heavy debts, Nguyen Ngoc Sam was no longer able to repay his debts from the end of 2024. Therefore, Sam conceived the idea of fraudulently renting self-driving cars and then pawning them to get money to pay off debts and for personal expenses.
On October 28, 2024, Sam approached a car rental company to inquire about renting a self-drive car. They agreed on a one-month rental period at 700,000 VND per day, with the following commitments: “Subletting the car or giving it to another entity for use in any form is prohibited; If the car is used as collateral, the owner will be prosecuted for misappropriation of property; upon expiration of the rental period, the car must be returned to the owner in its original condition...”
After renting the car, Sam contacted a man named Hung in Thanh Hoa province to discuss pawning the car to borrow 120 million VND. When Hung checked the documents, he noticed the car was registered under someone else's name and questioned Sam about its ownership. Sam lied, claiming it belonged to his cousin who had given him full control and use of the vehicle. Trusting him, Hung agreed to lend him 120 million VND. Sam spent all of this money on personal expenses.
After the rental period expired, Sam failed to return the vehicle, and the rental company repeatedly requested its return. At this point, Sam claimed he was away on business and then asked to continue renting the car. On March 2, 2025, upon learning of Sam's arrest, the rental company filed a complaint accusing Sam of fraud and misappropriation of property.
Using the above methods, the investigating agency determined that between October 2024 and February 6, 2025, Nguyen Ngoc Sam committed five acts of fraud, appropriating assets worth a total of over 1.4 billion VND.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to his crime. He stated that due to debt and numerous online loans that he was unable to repay, he defrauded the victims.
After his arrest, the defendant arranged for his family to fully compensate the victims. The victims submitted a petition requesting a reduced sentence for the defendant.
Considering these as mitigating circumstances for the defendant, the court sentenced Nguyen Ngoc Sam to 7 years in prison for the crime of fraud and appropriation of property.
