Prosecution of subjects selling fake Ngoc Linh ginseng seedlings
Authorities discovered LVC (28 years old) in Vinh Phuc, showing signs of fraud and property appropriation by selling fake Ngoc Linh ginseng seedlings.
After more than 2 months of investigation, the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (Kon Tum Provincial Police) in coordination with Kon Tum City Police and Market Management Team No. 2 (Kon Tum Provincial Market Management Department) discovered that LVC (28 years old) in Vinh Phuc had signs of fraud and property appropriation by selling fake Ngoc Linh ginseng seedlings.
Specifically, LVC uses a Facebook Fanpage named "Kontum Province Plant Seed Center" with more than 1,200 likes, 1,300 followers, regularly posting images and videos advertising the sale of Ngoc Linh ginseng seeds and Ngoc Linh ginseng roots originating from Tu Mo Rong district (Kon Tum). The selling price is from 30,000 - 50,000 VND/2-year-old seedling (much lower than real Ngoc Linh ginseng in the province). At the same time, LVC regularly sells large quantities of ginseng of unknown origin, introducing itself as Ngoc Linh Kon Tum ginseng.
Authorities discovered that on May 14, 2024, LVC transferred 150 ginseng seedlings of unknown origin but labeled Ngoc Linh Kon Tum ginseng to Kon Tum province for a resident to buy for replanting. Kon Tum authorities sealed and checked the order, and worked with the victim. Through inspection, the authorities determined that the 150 seedlings were not Ngoc Linh Kon Tum ginseng.
When summoned to work, LVC admitted all violations. Specifically, from 2023 to present, LVC has repeatedly contacted Nguyen Thi Anh Hong (46 years old, in Lao Cai) to import ginseng varieties with characteristics similar to Ngoc Linh Kon Tum ginseng, but originating from China. Then, to gain trust from customers, the subject created a Facebook Fanpage named "Kontum Province Seed Center" located in Ngoc Lay commune, Tu Mo Rong district and advertised ginseng seedlings of unknown origin for illegal profit.
Kon Tum Provincial Police initiated a case and prosecuted LVC for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 174 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017. The decision to prosecute was approved by the People's Procuracy of the same level.