'Female monster' recklessly impersonates official to scam money for job

Impersonating a police officer

In 2018, when she realized that people needed a lot of jobs and she needed money to spend, Cao Thi Thanh Vinh made a plan to cheat gullible people.

Around November 2018, through a friend's introduction, Vinh learned that Ms. LTG (born in 1993), residing in Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province, was having ajob search needsVinh immediately came up with a perfect scenario, changing his name and workplace to increase trust. Vinh used the fake name Cao Thi Dieu Linh and impersonated a police officer currently working at the Economic Police Department, Ministry of Public Security to defraud Ms. LTG.

Listening to Vinh's words, Ms. LTG thought that Vinh had many connections that could help her find a job, so she asked Vinh to help her get a job at the Nghe An Provincial Police Guest House. Vinh offered his first business deal at 180 million VND.

Completely trusting Vinh, Ms. LTG's family came to collect money. On December 6, 2018, Ms. G. and her father met Vinh and gave him 100 million VND and a job application with the promise that they would receive a job decision next year.

The following times, citing lack of documents and problems in the process of running the business, the “officer” asked Ms. LTG to continue sending money through her bank account as well as directly sending cash. Sometimes Vinh asked for an additional 10 million VND, sometimes an additional 15 million VND.

Having started something, they had to follow through. Moreover, believing in Vinh's reputation as a "Ministry of Public Security officer", LTG's family tried to borrow money to help their son find a job. The total amount of money Vinh received was 235 million VND, which Vinh spent on personal expenses and did not contact or prepare any documents to apply for a job for LTG. Only when the police summoned her to work did LTG's family realize that they had been deceived and that the "female police officer" was Cao Thi Thanh Vinh, a former officer of the North Central Geological Federation.

Previously, with the same familiar trick, in February 2018, Cao Thi Thanh Vinh suggested to Ms. Nguyen Thi Ng. (residing in Nam Dan district) that she was preparing to have a "position" to work at the North Central Hydrometeorological Station, if Ms. Ng. needed it, Vinh would help.

Without thinking twice, believing what Vinh said was true, Ms. Ng. immediately ran home to collect money and gave Vinh 20 million VND as a "deposit". The two sides promised that if by May 2018 there was a recruitment decision, Ms. Ng. would give the full 50 million VND to Vinh.

However, by May 2018, Ms. Ng. had not yet received the decision, so she contacted Vinh to ask him to return the 20 million VND, but Vinh refused and asked Ms. Ng. to wait due to paperwork problems. Ms. Ng. had to file a petition to the Vinh City Police Department to get her money back.

With the above trick, Vinh also tricked Ms. NTA, residing in Hung Chinh commune, Vinh city, Nghe An province, promising to find a job for Ms. A. in the medical department under the North Central Geological Federation for 150 million VND. Ms. A. deposited 50 million VND in advance. Ms. A. would pay the remaining amount to Vinh when she was decided to go to work. When the appointment was made, Ms. A. still had not received the recruitment decision, so she asked Vinh to pay her money but was refused. Ms. A. filed a complaint with the authorities.

Thus, between February 2018 and May 2019, Cao Thi Thanh Vinh committed 3 acts of fraud, appropriating 310 million VND.

In May 2019, Nghe An Provincial Police issued a decision to prosecute the case, prosecuting the defendant Cao Thi Thanh Vinh for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property". Because he was raising a child under 36 months old, Vinh was released on bail. However, taking advantage of this lenient policy, Vinh fled. After 2 months of being wanted, Vinh was arrested by the police at a hotel in Vinh city.

Pity the old father

Cao Thi Thanh Vinh (born in 1983), residing in Le Mao ward, Vinh city, was born into a well-educated family with two sisters. Because they wanted their children to have a stable life, Mr. T. and his wife (Vinh's father), although doing small business, tried to save money for Vinh and his sister to finish their education. After graduating, Vinh got a stable job at the North Central Geological Federation.

However, Vinh preferred a life of enjoyment, so she came up with a "drama" of applying for a job to earn money to spend. Vinh changed her name, claiming to be an official in prestigious places to gain the trust of the victims. Although she was completely incapable of recruiting, Cao Thi Thanh Vinh still offered job positions with a firm commitment to get the job, making it impossible for the victims to escape the "trap" she drew.

On August 12, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a criminal appeal trial against Cao Thi Thanh Vinh for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property". It is known that Vinh was previously sentenced to 9 years in prison by the People's Court of Vinh City. Believing that the sentence was too high, Vinh filed an appeal to reduce the sentence.

Attending the trial, in addition to the invited victim, there were also Mr. T. and his wife (Vinh's parents) who brought their grandchild. Vinh and his wife had been divorced, so since the incident, Vinh's young child has been taken in by his grandparents. On the day the trial opened, he hoped that when Vinh saw his child, he would have the motivation to reform himself and receive leniency from the law.

At the appeal hearing, the defendant presented several new mitigating circumstances such as: His father was a war invalid and was awarded the Glorious Soldier Medal and the Resistance Liberation Medal by the State, and his family was required to compensate the victims for 60 million VND in damages... The defendant asked the Trial Panel to reduce his sentence so that he could return home soon to raise his children and take care of his elderly parents.

Mr. B. - father of the victim LTG (residing in Thanh Chuong district) said that Vinh had defrauded his family of 235 million VND. Before the trial, Mr. B. told Vinh's family that if they could compensate 150 million VND, he would forgive the remaining amount. However, due to difficult circumstances, Mr. T. could only pay 40 million VND.

Taking advantage of the short deliberation, Mr. T. - Vinh's father was able to sit closer to his daughter. Although the old father was not allowed to come closer, just the words of encouragement and consolation made Vinh unable to hold back her tears, bowing to the floor and crying. After reviewing all the details of the case, the appellate panel found that these were mitigating circumstances that had not been considered by the first instance court, so they accepted the defendant's appeal, amended the verdict, sentenced defendant Cao Thi Thanh Vinh to 7 years in prison for "Fraudulent appropriation of property" and forced her to compensate the remaining amount to the victims.

Cao Thi Thanh Vinh's sentence was reduced to 2 years, shortening Vinh's way home. Surely, at this age, seeing his parents struggling to pay off the debt he caused, riding with his grandchild on an old motorbike from the court to home, everyone felt heartbroken, Vinh also felt regretful and remorseful. If only Vinh had worked hard to make a living with his own ability, there wouldn't have been such a humiliating scene like today...