Female con artist with multiple convictions reveals reason for her fraud.

Contributing capital to a "fictitious" shipment.

In early 2023, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police received complaints from victims in Vinh City. Most of the complaints shared the same accusation: they had been defrauded by a woman who solicited investment for a shipment of imported cosmetics. Only when she became unreachable and the goods were not sold did the victims realize what had happened and file reports with the police.

Based on letters and incriminating evidence, investigators identified the mastermind behind the scams as Pham Thi My Hanh (born in 1991), residing in Le Loi Ward, Vinh City (Nghe An province). However, to the investigators' surprise, Hanh was already under surveillance due to her involvement in another fraud case that had already been tried.

Despite serving a sentence, Phạm Thị Mỹ Hạnh, with her lazy and indolent nature, concealed her conviction and continued to invent various excuses to carry out new fraudulent schemes. This time, wanting to pay off her debts, Phạm Thị Mỹ Hạnh devised a plan to defraud Phạm Thị V. (born in 1985), residing in Hưng Phúc Ward, Vinh City, who is Hạnh's cousin.

After several conversations and visits, Hanh lied to Ms. V., claiming she needed money to import a shipment of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and milk products from abroad. According to Hanh, this shipment was sent by her husband's relatives overseas, promising high profits and guaranteeing sales upon arrival. The profits Hanh promised convinced Ms. V. to invest with complete trust.

As soon as the victim fell into the trap, Hanh used various excuses such as needing money for goods, shipping costs, or even needing money to pay customs fees to gain Ms. V.'s trust and get her to transfer the money.

Between June 1, 2021, and June 10, 2022, Ms. Pham Thi V. transferred a total of 20.6 billion VND to Hanh's account four times. In addition, this woman also had acquaintances transfer over 1.3 billion VND to Hanh.

To gain trust, Pham Thi My Hanh used deceptive tactics. After receiving the next investment, Hanh returned a portion of the previous investment to Ms. V., claiming it as initial profit, which further convinced Ms. V. Hanh. Hanh returned 19.9 billion VND to Ms. V., keeping the rest for personal expenses.

However, on June 10, 2022, Hanh sent a text message "confessing" her actions and then completely cut off contact with Ms. V. At this point, Ms. V. was shocked and filed a complaint with the Police Investigation agency. There, Ms. V. was horrified to learn that Hanh was already serving a sentence related to the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property."

Previously, in 2021, during the course of her business, Hanh borrowed money from many people, including Ms. BM (born in 1991) and Ms. KO (born in 1991), both residing in Vinh City. Knowing that Hanh could not repay the loans totaling over 5 billion VND, in June 2021, Ms. BM and Ms. KO reported Hanh's actions to the police.

In late May 2022, Phan Thi My Hanh was brought to trial in connection with a "Fraudulent appropriation of property" case and sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, because at that time, the defendant Hanh was raising a young child under 36 months old, she was released on bail.

Reasons for continuous fraud

In late December 2023, the first-instance trial of Pham Thi My Hanh for the crime of fraud and appropriation of property took place. Most of those attending the trial were people who had trusted Hanh and transferred large sums of money to her.

It is known that Hanh herself was born into a well-educated family and received a good education. With her lively appearance and quick wit, Hanh ventured into online sales of various goods. However, due to the difficult economic times, her business was unsuccessful, leaving her with a continuous debt for goods. Even after being convicted of fraud and sentenced to 20 years in prison, Pham Thi My Hanh deliberately concealed the fact that she was under supervision to continue defrauding Ms. V.

When questioned by the panel of judges about the reasons for the fraud, Hanh's explanation at the trial shocked everyone. However, at the trial, the defendant Hanh repeatedly asserted that she had no intention of committing fraud.

My Hanh burst into tears as she explained her crime: "At that time, my husband and I had divorced, and he was raising our two young children. It was only after the divorce that I discovered I was pregnant for the third time. At that time, I didn't understand what I was thinking. I thought that doing this would prove to my family that I was earning money to have a stable life and that I could spend more time with my children."

The defendant apologized to the victims and hoped that Ms. V. would not put pressure on her family. Hanh also stated that, given her current prison sentence and ongoing trial, it would be a long time before she returned home. In her current circumstances, she has no plan to repay the stolen money.

At the trial, the victim also stated that because she trusted Hanh too much, she is now in debt, her children have to be raised by others, and her professional reputation has been affected. "The defendant has no humanity, no morality. While under police investigation, and even after being sentenced to 20 years in prison, Hanh still deliberately deceived me…," Ms. V. shared, explaining why she did not accept the apology and refused to forgive the defendant Hanh.

After a comprehensive review of the case, the trial court sentenced the defendant Pham Thi My Hanh to 16 years in prison. Combined with her existing sentence, Hanh must serve a total of 30 years in prison. The court also ordered her to repay over 1.9 billion VND to Ms. V. (minus over 100 million VND already paid by her family).

Defendant Hanh walked out of the courtroom with tears streaming down her face. She should have been happily with her family, raising her children. But greed has caused this young mother to pay a very high price.

An Quynh