The head of a failed informal lending scheme accuses people of embezzling money.

(Baonghean.vn) - Mrs. Oanh's son filed a complaint with the police, alleging that local residents had stolen over 100 million VND from the family's safe.

"Loan scheme collapses in impoverished village, belated tears of the people."

Nghe An: Hundreds of people in panic due to collapsed savings scheme.

There are signs of fraud.

On September 9th, Colonel Luong The Loc, Head of the Thanh Chuong District Police, stated that the unit is finalizing several documents to transfer to the Nghe An Provincial Police for further investigation into the pyramid scheme collapse that occurred in Thanh My commune.

"Initially, the unit determined there were signs of fraud, which could lead to prosecution. However, due to the large amount of money involved, the case falls under the investigative jurisdiction of the provincial level," Colonel Loc said.

According to a police source, the Thanh Chuong District Police have summoned the head of the informal lending group, Ms. Tran Thi Oanh (37 years old, from Thanh My commune), for questioning over the past few days. Ms. Oanh confessed that she had used the more than ten billion VND from the lending group to "treat her son's illness and for charity" at temples and pagodas.

The house, which also serves as Mrs. Oanh's grocery store, has been closed for several days. Photo: Tien Hung.

Meanwhile, there are now over 180 complaints alleging that Ms. Oanh misappropriated nearly 10 billion VND. However, according to Mr. Vo Van Tinh, Head of the Thanh My Commune Police, the actual number of victims and the amount of money involved are even greater. Some people, due to shame or being officials, did not report the incident.

“We estimate that more than 200 people were victims, with losses totaling nearly 12 billion VND,” Mr. Tinh said, adding that among the victims, the majority were residents of Thanh My commune, with a few from Hanh Lam and Thanh Lien communes. Many victims were civil servants, teachers, and even officials working at the nearby Prison No. 6. The head of the Thanh My commune police also refuted information from residents that this pyramid scheme had collapsed, claiming losses of over 20 billion VND.

War invalid Vo Van At (55 years old), with a 97% disability rate, is also one of Ms. Oanh's victims, having lost nearly 300 million VND. Photo: Tien Hung

For more than 10 days now, many offices at the Thanh My Commune People's Committee have been repurposed by the investigating agency to take statements from victims. People are constantly coming and going inside the commune headquarters. "There are many complainants, but the police can only take statements from about 6 cases each day. Currently, we have taken statements from about 60 people," Mr. Tinh said.

The village is in turmoil.

Earlier, in early August, many members of the informal lending group run by Ms. Oanh suspected the scheme had collapsed. Many members, even though it was their turn to receive their share, were repeatedly postponed by Ms. Oanh with various excuses. Fearing they would lose their money, many surrounded Ms. Oanh's house, which also served as a grocery store, in the center of Thanh My commune.

The incident escalated on August 10th, when hundreds of people gathered at the head of the informal lending group's house to demand their money back and hurl insults. The Thanh Chuong district police had to deploy forces to maintain security and order.

All the assets that people seized from Ms. Oanh's house as payment for debts have now been recovered. Photo: Tien Hung

“Tension lasted for more than a week. Hundreds of people surrounded the house day and night. Fortunately, the people remained calm, and the authorities were on duty 24/7, so no fights broke out,” said Mr. Pham Xuan Luc, Chairman of the Thanh My Commune People's Committee, adding that when questioned by many people demanding the money back, Ms. Oanh sometimes declared, “The money is gone and I will not return it.”

The head of the informal lending group's statement angered some residents, who threw stones at the shop. Police officers who arrived at the scene intervened in time to prevent a potential fight.

However, on the evening of August 13th, a forest fire broke out in Thanh My commune. “At that time, I used the commune's loudspeaker to announce and mobilize all officials and residents to fight the fire. Knowing that the authorities had already gone to extinguish the fire and were no longer stationed at Ms. Oanh's house, dozens of people stormed into the house to seize property as payment for debts. At that point, we had to split our forces in half to rush back to her house,” recounted the Chief of Police of Thanh My commune. When the authorities arrived, many of Ms. Oanh's belongings, including a motorbike, washing machine, television, safe, tables, and chairs, had already been taken away by the residents.

In the following days, after being persuaded by the police, the residents returned all the property they had taken from Ms. Oanh's house. This property is currently sealed in the public reception room of Thanh My commune headquarters.

"We have to retain these assets and not return them to the family yet because we need to clarify whether they were purchased with money obtained through illegal activities," said Colonel Luong The Loc.

The safes seized by people owing debts were display items for sale. Photo: Tien Hung

However, the Chief of Police of Thanh Chuong District refuted this. “There was no money among the assets seized by the villagers as collateral. All of it has now been recovered,” Colonel Loc affirmed. In fact, the four safes seized by the villagers were not safes used by Ms. Oanh's family. These were display safes in a grocery store, never actually used. After dozens of villagers seized assets from her home as collateral, Ms. Oanh's son filed a complaint with the police, accusing them of property seizure. In the complaint, he stated, “Among the seized assets was a safe containing 105 million dong.”

According to locals, her family was one of the wealthiest in the area. Previously, she traded at the market and was responsible for supplying food to Prison No. 6. For over 10 years, she organized informal lending schemes and accepted deposits with high interest rates. Members of the scheme have always paid their contributions in full, and there has never been any evidence of her "loan sharking." Therefore, locals believe that the sum of over ten billion dong has been embezzled by her.

After receiving the complaint, authorities issued a travel ban prohibiting Ms. Oanh from leaving the area. However, she later requested permission to seek medical treatment, which was granted. Concerned about security, Ms. Oanh's family members have also gone into hiding. A few days ago, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, believing that Ms. Oanh would return home to offer incense, the villagers set up an ambush to force her to repay her debt.

"When people saw a woman with her face covered come in and open the door, they immediately rushed in, but it turned out to be the daughter-in-law," said Le Thi Hong (32 years old), one of the people owed money by Ms. Oanh.

The incident is still under investigation.

Tien Hung