360 hours to track down a 'super scammer' in his 20s.
Tran Anh Tuan rented several self-driving cars in the area and then pawned them for money to spend. As soon as the scam was exposed, the "master swindler" planned his escape. Only after being arrested did Tuan reveal the methods he used to ensnare his victims.
From the reports filed
In mid-April 2017, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police received a series of complaints from companies and individuals renting self-drive cars in the city and surrounding districts, all with the same content: A person in the area rented a self-drive car, failed to return the vehicle after the contract expired, and could not be contacted by phone.
As the Director of Henry Son Trading and Tourism Company (located in Vinh City), Mr. Tran Van S. (residing in Hung Dung Ward, Vinh City) vividly remembers that on November 15, 2016, a young man introduced himself as a construction contractor and needed to rent a self-drive car to go to a construction site.
With his neat appearance and "generous" spending, Mr. S.'s company agreed to rent a silver Toyota Fortuner, license plate 37A-175.64, for one month at a price of 28 million VND, along with a copy of the vehicle registration and inspection certificate. After completing the rental procedures, the customer was required to deposit 10 million VND; however, this customer deposited 15 million VND along with a copy of his ID card.
After the one-month period expired, when the customer didn't return the car, Mr. S. assumed the customer had forgotten the schedule and called to remind them. However, the customer replied that they were busy with a construction project and would return the car later. After several phone calls and promises, Mr. S. trusted them and continued to let the customer use the car. Unexpectedly, after waiting three months, the car was nowhere to be seen, and the customer was unreachable. At this point, Mr. S. and his staff were shocked and checked the car's GPS tracking, only to find that the connection had been disconnected. Suspecting that the car had been stolen, Mr. S. immediately filed a report with the authorities.
Around the same time, investigators also received a complaint from Mr. Nguyen TH, Director of JVT Investment and Trading Company Limited (located on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street, Vinh City). The complaint contained similar information: in early December 2016, a man claiming to be named Tuan, a construction contractor, came to the company to rent a self-drive car. There, Tuan met Ms. Nguyen Thi K., an employee of JVT Company. After introducing himself as a construction contractor needing a self-drive car for work, and after receiving confirmation from the employee, Mr. TH signed a contract for Mr. Tuan to rent a white KIA K3 car, license plate 37A-242.93, for one month at a price of 800,000 VND per day. When handing over the car, Mr. TH also provided a notarized copy of the vehicle registration certificate and the inspection certificate. The man named Tuan only needed to deposit 20 million VND and provide his personal documents.
But, similar to Mr. S.'s case, when the rental period expired, Mr. TH did not see the customer return the car. He had his staff call to check, but found that the number Tuan had left was no longer reachable, and the car's GPS tracking had been disconnected. He then filed a report with the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police.
Over 360 hours spent searching for the "master scammer"
Based on the received complaints, investigators tracked down a man named Tuan who claimed to be a construction contractor. Through verification, they discovered that Tran Anh Tuan (born in 1995), residing in Hamlet 3, Nghi Kim Commune, Vinh City, was the suspect in the aforementioned incidents. However, at the time of verification and clarification, the detectives found that Tuan was not present in the area.
Furthermore, through several sources close to the suspect, it was learned that Tran Anh Tuan was only 21 years old at the time of the incident and did not have a stable job, contrary to the information Tuan provided to the car rental companies that he was a construction contractor. Determining the suspect's purpose and motive was fraud, the investigators employed professional methods to track down Tuan.
To promptly apprehend the suspect, the head of the Criminal Police Department decided to establish a special case and assigned investigators and detectives from Team 4 to conduct the investigation.
Despite his young age, Tuan was very cunning in erasing all traces of his movements. He frequently changed residences and cut off contact with all his relatives and acquaintances to avoid being tracked by authorities. Furthermore, Tuan almost never used a phone or bank account, which made it even more difficult for investigators to track him down.
After a period of searching for the suspect, on May 11, 2017, investigators discovered that the suspect, Tran Anh Tuan, was shopping for personal belongings at Quang Trung Market. Determining that he was likely trying to escape after a period of hiding and realizing he could not escape punishment, the special task force immediately held a meeting and implemented a plan to apprehend him. During the on-site search, the task force seized a passport bearing the name Tran Anh Tuan along with some personal belongings.
At the Provincial Police Investigation Department, Tuan confessed that due to a lack of stable employment and frequent borrowing from friends and relatives for frivolous entertainment, he had accumulated a large debt. While struggling financially and constantly pressured by creditors to repay, he conceived the idea of renting self-driving cars, forging vehicle documents, and then pawning them to pay off his debts and for personal expenses. According to Tuan's confession, from November 2016 to the present, he has carried out five instances of renting self-driving cars and then pawning them.
Tuan confessed that his first heist involved a silver Toyota Fortuner with license plate 37A-175.64 belonging to Mr. Tran Van S.'s company (Vinh City). After renting the car, Tuan went online to find an unknown person to forge the vehicle registration in his name for 10 million VND. After agreeing on the terms, Tuan was arranged to meet the stranger in Binh Duong province to receive the fake documents. He then took the car, the forged registration in his name, and his ID card to a pawn shop in Dien Chau district and pawned them for 450 million VND.
Regarding the last "scam" Tuan committed before his arrest, on February 11, 2017, he approached Ha Hoang Nam Transport Company Limited (located in Nghi Lien commune, Vinh City) introducing himself as a construction contractor needing to rent a self-drive car for construction sites. Trusting Tuan, Mr. Tran Van H., the company director, signed a contract for Tuan to rent a silver Toyota Fortuner, license plate 37A-306.70, along with the vehicle inspection certificate, mandatory insurance certificate, and confirmation that he held the original registration certificate for the car.
After receiving the car and barely settling in, Tuan drove it, along with all the related documents, to a pawn shop for 300 million VND. The total value of the assets Tuan admitted to fraudulently obtaining was estimated by authorities at 3 billion VND. Tuan claimed he used this money to pay off debts and for personal expenses.
Based on Tuan's initial testimony, on May 17, 2017, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police initiated a case of "Fraudulent appropriation of property," charged the suspect, and issued a 4-month detention order against Tran Anh Tuan to continue the investigation and expand the case.
13 years in prison for a "super scammer" in his 20s.
The first-instance trial of Tran Anh Tuan took place in mid-April 2018. As the victims, representatives of the companies and individuals who rented out self-drive cars were present from early on to participate in the trial, all hoping for adequate compensation.
On Tuan's family side, his wife and child were present. Upon seeing his young child, who was just over a year old, Tuan could only bow his head. It is known that after his parents separated, Tuan was cared for and raised by his maternal grandparents from a young age.
According to the indictment, between November 15, 2016, and February 11, 2017, Tuan used the tactic of renting self-driving cars in Vinh City and Dien Chau district, then pawning them to embezzle five cars worth a total of 3.52 billion VND, which he then used for personal expenses. Of these, three cars were pawned to Bui Dang Thang (residing in Dien Chau district) for a total of 850 million VND; one to Nguyen Van Diep for 450 million VND; and the remaining car to Tran Thi Chau for 450 million VND.
Tran Anh Tuan's main tactic was to create a facade of success, posing as a construction contractor needing vehicles for his projects. Tuan would often go to self-drive car rental shops and rent expensive cars for 800,000 to 1 million VND per day for a period of 1 to 3 months. To gain the trust of the rental shop owners, Tuan would deposit 15-20 million VND. After renting the cars, Tuan would hire someone to forge vehicle registration papers in the names of the aforementioned car owners for 10 million VND per set.
Not only did Tuan complete all the necessary paperwork, but he was also generous in transferring extra deposit money to car rental companies, earning their trust. However, after renting the cars, Tuan would go online to have documents forged and then pawn them to fund his lavish lifestyle.
At the trial, the shop owners all demanded that Tuan compensate them for the losses they suffered due to the loss of their business vehicles during the time they were seized. Defendant Tran Anh Tuan confessed to all his actions. "Due to difficult family circumstances, my wife and I do not have stable jobs, so I acted recklessly," Tuan justified when questioned by the panel of judges.
It is known that the evidence has been recovered and returned to the victims. Mr. Tran Van S. specifically requested the defendant to compensate him 140 million VND for business losses caused by the vehicle theft; Mr. Thang requested 850 million VND; and Ms. Chau and Mr. Diep each requested 450 million VND in compensation. In his final statement, Tuan apologized to the victims and hoped for their forgiveness. The defendant also expressed his wish to return home soon to work and earn money to repay the victims.
After a comprehensive review of the case, the panel of judges sentenced defendant Tran Anh Tuan to 13 years in prison for fraud and misappropriation of property, and ordered him to compensate the victims the agreed-upon amount.