13 suspects detained in a property fraud ring operating in Cambodia

Accordingly, 13 subjects were detained for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" including: Trinh Ngoc Linh (born in 1990, in Lam Son ward, Thanh Hoa city - mastermind); Ta Thu Ha (born in 1992, in Tao Xuyen ward, Thanh Hoa city - mastermind); Phung Kha Dat (born in 1997, in Hoang Duc commune, Hoang Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province - manager); Ta Thanh Tung (born in 1995, in Ha Trung town, Ha Trung district, Thanh Hoa province - manager); Tran Mong Hoang Phuc (born in 2004), Nguyen Ba Kien (born in 2006) - both in Ninh Hoa district, Khanh Hoa province; Le Minh Tri (born in 2003), Tran Hoai Linh (born in 2002) - both in Cao Lanh city, Dong Thap province; Truong Ngoc Tu (born in 1990, in Hoang Duc commune, Hoang Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province); Ha Thi Hien (born in 2007, in Than Uyen district, Lai Chau province); Huynh Vinh An (born in 2000, in Go Cong Tay district, Tien Giang province); Tran Chi Tam (born in 1997, in Cai Rang district, Can Tho city) and Nguyen Thi Cam Huyen (born in 1998, in Thanh Phu district, Ben Tre province) for fraud and appropriation of property.

According to the initial investigation results of the Investigation Agency, around July 2024, Ta Thu Ha and Trinh Ngoc Linh went to Bavet City, Svay Rieng Province - Cambodia, bordering Moc Bai Border Gate, Tay Ninh Province to organize fraudulent activities to appropriate property. Here, Ha and Linh contacted and agreed with a Chinese subject about renting a house in the autonomous zone and were installed 20 desktop computers, equipped with wifi and other equipment to serve fraudulent activities by the Chinese subjects.

During their activities, Ta Thu Ha and Trinh Ngoc Linh colluded with a number of other Vietnamese people to create a Telegram group called “INTERNAL 1” with Ha as the group leader. At the same time, the subjects would buy “fake” Facebook and Zalo accounts and hand them over to group members to “nurture” the accounts to increase interactions, post fake images of women’s accounts to get acquainted and entice male customers to participate in tasks in the form of purchasing orders through the Tiki page.

Initially, the subjects will lure with simple and profitable tasks, then invest in tasks that cost more, then give different information about having money withheld and having to pay to do more tasks to get the money back. When customers are suspicious or no longer able, they will seize, block messages and delete friends with the victim's accounts.

To avoid Vietnamese authorities, the Chinese subject provided an account number to receive the scam money, a business account with a Vietnamese name and constantly changing accounts. When the victim transferred money into the account, Ta Thanh Tung was responsible for reporting to the payment center the entire Telegram account managed by the Chinese subject. The money flow process behind this would be concealed by this subject through converting and buying and selling USD. After deducting all expenses, the money would be converted to USD and delivered in cash to Ta Thu Ha or Trinh Ngoc Linh to handle the activities and pay "salaries" to employees.

Initial investigation determined that the total amount of money directly defrauded by the subjects from dozens of victims nationwide amounted to billions of dong.

Currently, the Thanh Hoa Provincial Police Department has detained 13 suspects for "Fraudulent appropriation of property" and is continuing to investigate and expand the case.