Old man impersonating army lieutenant general defrauded billions of dong
Introducing himself as an army lieutenant general, Mr. Hoi boasted that he had land for sale, a liquidated car, and was fully capable of "running" for retirement.
On July 3, Hanoi People's Court opened the first instance trial and sentenced defendant Lam Van Hoi (70 years old, in Dong Da district) to 16 years in prison for the crime ofFraudulent appropriation of property, according to Article 174 of the 2015 Penal Code.
Defendant Hoi at the first instance trial. |
In late 2015, while meeting Mr. Nguyen Tien Hai, Mr. Hoi used a fake name, introducing himself as a lieutenant general working at the Ministry of National Defense. The defendant boasted that he knew many high-ranking leaders, and owned a 150 m2 plot of land in Nam Tu Liem district.
The defendant promised to sell the land to Mr. Hai at a cheap price of only 20 million VND/m2. Then, to gain the victim's trust, he took him to see the land opposite the Trung Van Ward Police Station. Mr. Hai deposited 600 million VND to buy it, and was promised that the transfer of ownership would take 15-20 days.
The investigation agency determined that the defendant also deceived a middle-aged woman by helping her buy two liquidated military cars. In this fraud, Mr. Hoi received a deposit of 2.1 billion VND to buy the car. In addition, with the title of Lieutenant General, he also receivedMore than 210 million VND of a victim in Ninh Binh to "run" retirement regime.
In court, the defendant confessed to his actions, saying he had used 400 million VND to travel for 20 days.