Woman steals over half a billion VND from neighbor to "secure" a job.
(Baonghean.vn) - Taking advantage of her neighbors' trust, Ho Thi Thu Ha spread rumors that she had many connections and could secure jobs. She spent all the money intended for "job placement" on personal expenses. On the day of her court appearance, seeing her young children calling her name, Ha finally broke down in tears, realizing her mistake…
From the complaint letters…
In mid-2018, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nam Dan District Police received a series of complaints alleging fraud and embezzlement through schemes to gain admission to the Military Medical Academy and pursue overseas studies. Notably, all the victims who filed complaints were neighbors of the fraudsters, people who had been close to them through thick and thin.
Immediately after receiving the complaint, the district police quickly conducted an investigation, verified the contents of the complaint, took statements from the victims, and collected relevant information and documents. During the initial investigation, based on the collected documents and evidence, the Nam Dan District Police determined that the aforementioned fraud ring was led by Ho Thi Thu Ha. In reality, Ha had no stable occupation and, with her glib tongue, defrauded her neighbors. Some victims were even scammed up to three times.
In early July 2018, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nam Dan District Police initiated a case and indicted Ho Thi Thu Ha (born in 1988), residing in Lam Son Hamlet, Nam Dan Town, Nam Dan District, for the crime of fraud and appropriation of property.
However, during the investigation of the case, despite the district police summoning and questioning her multiple times to verify relevant information, Ho Thi Thu Ha fled the area. The Nam Dan District Police proactively coordinated with police units in other localities to contact provinces, cities, and towns where Ho Thi Thu Ha was suspected of hiding in order to verify and locate her whereabouts.
In addition, the district police force regularly sent officers to the suspect's home to encourage family members to provide the hiding place if Ha contacted them. Thanks to the persistent and coordinated implementation of these measures, after a period of focused monitoring and intelligence gathering, the Nam Dan District Police obtained information that a suspect believed to be Ho Thi Thu Ha was present around District 5, Ho Chi Minh City.
Upon receiving the tip, a task force was dispatched to Ho Chi Minh City to verify the identity of Ho Thi Thu Ha. After nearly a week of surveillance, at the end of June 2018, once it was confirmed that the suspect was Ho Thi Thu Ha, the detectives raided and arrested her. Due to the surprise arrest, she did not have time to escape, and the task force proceeded to transport her to the Nam Dan District Police headquarters.
At the police station, faced with the victim's report and the collected evidence, Ho Thi Thu Ha had to admit to her crime. After committing the crime and realizing she would be reported, Ha quickly fled to Ho Chi Minh City to hide and avoid arrest and legal prosecution, but unexpectedly, she was quickly discovered and arrested by the Nam Dan District Police.
Unmasking the tricks used in "job-seeking" schemes.
At the police investigation agency, Ho Thi Thu Ha confessed that because they were neighbors, she knew about and took advantage of the fact that Ms. Vo Thi S. (born in 1971) and Ms. Van Thi Th. (born in 1964), both residing in Nam Dan town, were looking for opportunities for their children to study at universities and abroad. Ha devised a scam to steal their money for personal use.
Around November 2015, while visiting her ailing father-in-law, Ha coincidentally met Ms. Vo Thi S. Through conversation, she learned that Ms. S.'s daughter had just graduated but was unemployed. Ha then boasted that she could secure a position in the Army. Ha said the all-inclusive price was 265 million VND, but a 60 million VND deposit was required. Anxious about her daughter's job after graduation, Ms. S. brought the 60 million VND as a deposit to Ha.
To gain Ms. S.'s trust, Ha received the money and wrote a commitment in Ms. S.'s notebook promising to return the entire amount if she couldn't find a job within nine months. Not only that, Ha also typed up the content herself, obtained signatures from the internet, photocopied, and edited the Decision on Female Military Personnel Enlistment after Schooling issued by the 4th Military Region Command, including Ms. S.'s daughter's name, thus leaving Ms. S. with no suspicion whatsoever.
Later, Ha took the money to Vinh City to meet a woman named Van (whose background and address are unknown) to try to secure a place for Ms. S.'s daughter at the Military Medical College. However, the woman said that getting her daughter in would cost 800 million VND. Knowing she didn't have enough money to secure the job for Ms. S.'s daughter, Ha refused to return the 60 million VND deposit and instead spent the money on personal expenses.
When the attempt to "get into" the Army failed, in March 2016, Ha continued to sweet-talk Mrs. S., saying that getting into the Army was "stuck" and that if she studied in Australia, she would have a higher salary.
Therefore, Mrs. S. listened to Ha and sent her daughter to study in Australia for 500 million VND, paying a deposit of 66 million VND to Ha to "arrange" the study abroad program for her daughter, with the remaining amount to be paid before the flight.
About three months later, through the internet, Ha met an Australian man and conceived the idea of continuing to deceive Mrs. S. by promising to arrange a free scholarship for her daughter to study abroad for 250 million VND, and Mrs. S. agreed again. Subsequently, using similar tactics, Ha continued to request money from Mrs. S. for work visas and student visas to Australia. However, when the deadline arrived and her daughter still hadn't secured a job, Mrs. S. demanded the return of her deposit.
To buy time, Ha continued to devise new scams. In January 2016, through the internet, Ha learned that a petroleum company was recruiting workers in Nghe An province, so she introduced Hoang Van D. (born in 1993), Mrs. S.'s son, to her in order to swindle him out of 55 million VND. When her promise to secure a job for Mrs. S.'s son failed, Ha continued to deceive Mrs. S. by promising to get her son a job in the Army (gunsmithing) for 250 million VND. Because she was so eager for her son to find work, Mrs. S. was drawn into the "job-securing" scheme devised by Ha and couldn't escape.
As before, Mrs. S. again deposited 60 million VND, but her son never received a permanent position. When she went to demand the money back, Ha cleverly and sweetly "suggested" that Mrs. S. send her son to work abroad in Australia, with the aim of prolonging the repayment period and further extorting money. Not stopping there, using a similar method, Ha also offered to handle the procedures for overseas employment and interviews for Mrs. S.'s son, extorting another 84 million VND. In total, Ha extorted 557 million VND from Mrs. S.
Using the same tactic, Ha also defrauded her neighbor, Ms. Van Thi Th., by promising to secure two scholarships for her daughter to study in Australia for 60 million VND. In this case, investigators also discovered that Nguyen Song Thao (Director of Nhat Minh Thinh International Study Abroad Joint Stock Company) had used similar methods to exploit Ho Thi Thu Ha and embezzle 242 million VND from Ms. Vo Thi S. in 2016.
Moments of regret
In early May 2019, the People's Court of Nghe An province held a first-instance criminal trial to hear the case against two defendants, Ho Thi Thu Ha (born in 1988), residing in Nam Dan town, Nam Dan district, and Nguyen Song Thao (born in 1982), originally from Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province (currently living in Cam Le district, Da Nang city), for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property".
Early in the morning, Ho Thi Thu Ha was escorted to the court by police officers. Unlike her talkative demeanor when "running around" (seeking favors), Ho Thi Thu Ha sat silently, her head bowed, looking at her handcuffed hands. When she saw her ex-husband bringing their two young children to the trial, Ha burst into tears. It is known that Ha and her ex-husband have divorced, and the two children are currently living with their father. Although the trial was about to begin, the panel of judges had to temporarily adjourn the proceedings to allow the defendant, Ho Thi Thu Ha, to regain her composure. After she calmed down, the trial resumed.
At the trial, the two defendants confessed honestly, admitting to all their crimes. In justifying her actions, defendant Ho Thi Thu Ha stated that due to difficult family circumstances (she is an orphan and divorced), and a lack of money, she "came up with this fraudulent scheme." Defendant Nguyen Song Thao claimed that because his company was operating at a loss and heavily indebted, he took a "risk" to get money to pay off his debts.
During the debate, one victim stated: “The defendant Ha was aware that she had no ability to secure jobs or have any connections with influential people, yet she still committed fraud multiple times against many people. Therefore, it can be affirmed that the defendant intentionally committed the crime. Thus, I request that the court handle the case strictly and fairly, in accordance with the law.”
The court ruled that the fraudulent acts of defendants Ho Thi Thu Ha and Nguyen Song Thao constituted a dangerous crime against society and a property violation of a predatory nature. However, the victims also bore some responsibility for trusting and repeatedly giving money to the defendants. During the deliberation, Ha glanced around, searching for her children, and met the gaze of her ex-husband. Ha lowered her head, silently saddened. The cries of her two young children calling for their mother brought tears to her eyes. Because of her laziness and greed, Ha had fallen into a life of crime, and now, regret was too late.
After a comprehensive review of the case, considering aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the court sentenced Ho Thi Thu Ha to 12 years in prison and Nguyen Song Thao to 6 years in prison, both for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property." Nguyen Song Thao is currently serving a 10-year sentence for the same crime, so his total sentence is 16 years. Regarding civil matters, the defendants are ordered to return all the stolen money to the victims.
At this trial, the panel of judges also advised that recruitment for jobs at companies and agencies, especially state agencies, must involve a recruitment process with specific quotas, requiring applications to be submitted and candidates to go through the required selection and examination rounds. Furthermore, for studying abroad or working overseas, it is necessary to go through reputable companies to handle the application process and mandatory examinations, not through individuals. This serves as a cautionary tale for many others to avoid being scammed and having their assets stolen by unscrupulous individuals.