The delivery driver scammed people to get money to pay off his debts.
After being repeatedly pressed to repay his debt, the male delivery driver hatched a plan to commit fraud. Using the ploy of asking him to transfer money for a customer, this young man defrauded a delivery business owner of nearly 30 million VND.
On June 6th, the People's Court of Nghe An province held an appeal hearing for defendant Nguyen Van Luat (22 years old, residing in Ha Tinh province) on the charge of "Fraudulent appropriation of property".
According to the case file, Luat was a delivery driver for a business in Vinh City (Nghe An province). Due to debt and inability to repay, this young man conceived the idea of defrauding Mr. NTT (the owner of a delivery business).
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On November 14, 2024, Luat sent a message to Mr. T.'s account stating that a client needed to transfer 30 million VND, and that they would meet later to receive the cash. Mr. T. agreed and they discussed the transfer fee.
When Luat learned that Mr. T. had sent an employee to collect cash, he used deceptive tactics, claiming that the money had already been sent to him. Trusting him, Mr. T. transferred nearly 30 million VND to the account that Luat had asked a colleague to receive on his behalf. Luat used all of this money to pay off his debts.
After discovering he had been scammed, Mr. T. reported the incident to the police. On November 15th, Nguyen Van Luat surrendered to the police and confessed to his crime.
For the crime of fraud and misappropriation of property, the trial court sentenced Nguyen Van Luat to 6 months in prison. Subsequently, Luat appealed for a reduced sentence and was granted a suspended sentence.
At the appellate hearing, the defendant withdrew the appeal requesting a reduced sentence, but maintained the appeal requesting a suspended sentence.
The defendant expressed remorse for the crime and presented his difficult family circumstances to request a suspended sentence.
The court determined that the defendant's criminal act violated the property rights of citizens protected by law, causing disruption to social order and security. The defendant, possessing full criminal responsibility, did not strive for honest work but instead desired money for personal expenses and debt repayment, therefore a severe punishment is necessary.
However, in this case, the amount of money the defendant embezzled was not large. After the incident, the defendant influenced his family to return the money to the victim. The victim submitted a petition requesting a reduced sentence for the defendant.
The defendant has a good character and a clear place of residence, so it is not necessary to isolate him from society; instead, the defendant should be handed over to the local authorities for management and education.
For the reasons stated above, the appellate court accepts the defendant's appeal and sentences Nguyen Van Luat to 6 months of suspended imprisonment for the crime of fraud and appropriation of property.
