Thien Ngoc Minh Uy and the scam that defrauded people in Thai Hoa Town.

(Baonghean.vn) - At the end of February 2016, right when the whole country was abuzz with the scandal of the fraudulent multi-level marketing scheme Lien Ket Viet, which defrauded over 60,000 people of 1,900 billion VND, the Nghe An Newspaper hotline received a call from a woman claiming to be a "level one sales specialist" of Thien Ngoc Minh Uy multi-level marketing company, Hoang Giang Phuc branch, Thai Hoa town. She expressed her bitterness and regret at having fallen into the trap…

From farmer to... first-level sales specialist

Identifying herself as Nguyen Thi Huong, residing in Nghia Trung commune, Nghia Dan district, she stated: “In 2014, I joined Thien Ngoc Minh Uy Company, Hoang Giang Phuc branch in Thai Hoa town, as a sales member. Promised benefits, I paid them over 200 million VND. In mid-2015, realizing I had been scammed, I repeatedly demanded my money back but to no avail. Only when I considered legal action did they agree to return the money, but they deducted a percentage, leaving me with tens of millions of VND… As farmers, we are not knowledgeable about the law, so we hope the newspaper will clarify this matter…”

Hoang Giang Phuc facility in Thai Hoa town.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong with documents showing monetary transactions with Hoang Giang Phuc establishment in Thai Hoa town.

At her home, Ms. Huong showed us the products of Thien Ngoc Minh Uy Company, including: one electric rice cooker, one infrared stove marked "Made in China" (which was broken), a sales employee contract, a "Level One Sales Specialist" card, and numerous documents showing financial transactions, as well as a complaint letter alleging that she was defrauded and had her property stolen by Hoang Giang Phuc establishment in Thai Hoa town.

According to the complaint, around July 2014, she was introduced to Thien Ngoc Minh Uy Company and its multi-level marketing scheme by Mr. Cao Van Tho, Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Nghia Trung commune. According to Mr. Tho, if she purchased a health care code worth 9.8 million VND or a product code worth 8.7 million VND (which could be a rice cooker, induction cooker, or water filter…), she would receive 16 million VND in support from the company within two years; if she purchased a second code or more, she would receive an additional 12 million VND within two years in addition to the 16 million VND; furthermore, she would receive free healthcare.

On August 13, 2014, Ms. Huong and Mr. Tho went to Thien Ngoc Minh Uy Company - Hoang Giang Phuc branch located in Long Son Ward, Thai Hoa Town. There, Ms. Huong received direct consultation from the owner, Mr. Tran Van Cuong, who introduced the products and guided her on how to join the multi-level marketing network for Thien Ngoc Minh Uy Company.

Regarding the benefits for members participating in the product packages, Mr. Cuong also provided the same information as Mr. Cao Van Tho; he also stated that if a woman invites more people to join the multi-level marketing scheme, she will receive a reward of 1.3 million VND; and if she actively participates in advising and introducing many people, she will receive numerous valuable economic benefits.

With the "illusory promises" made by Mr. Cuong and especially by the Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Nghia Trung commune, on August 15, 2014, Ms. Huong used her family's money and borrowed from everywhere to buy 162.2 million VND worth of goods at once, equivalent to 17 product codes. Of these, 13 were health care products (127.4 million VND); and 4 product codes including rice cookers, infrared stoves, and ozone generators worth 34.8 million VND.

Despite spending a large sum of money, she did not receive receipts or invoices for 13 healthcare services, and for 4 other goods, she was only provided with order forms.

Membership card for multi-level marketing sales, code 4815EQ01, with the title "Level One Sales Specialist" belonging to Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong.

Immediately afterwards, Mr. Tran Van Cuong asked Ms. Huong to sign a multi-level marketing sales contract with Thien Ngoc Minh Uy Company, code 9062A9, which already had the seal and signature of the company's director, named Lam Nu. On August 17th, Ms. Huong brought her portrait photo and paid 60,000 VND to Tran Van Cuong. Immediately after that, despite not having received any training, she was issued a multi-level marketing membership card with code 4815EQ01 and the title of "Level One Sales Specialist".

Due to her excessive trust, on August 26th, Ms. Huong continued to purchase 8 more product codes worth 69.6 million VND. This time, she received a "commission" of 33 million VND (after deducting 10% for expenses) and was given an "order form" to purchase an ozone machine. In March 2015, Ms. Huong continued to purchase one more ozone machine product code and was advised she would receive a bonus of 41 million VND… In total, Ms. Huong purchased 26 product codes for a total of 245 million VND.

According to the "reward payout" scheme discussed by Mr. Cao Van Tho and Mr. Tran Van Cuong, after 6 months, the company would pay an initial installment of 500,000 VND per code; after one year, 3.5 million VND per code; and after two years, 12 million VND per code. However, by July 2015, besides the three products she had already received—an ozone generator, a rice cooker, and an infrared stove—Ms. Huong had not received any "reward payouts." When she inquired, the business owner gave various excuses for not fulfilling them. It was then that she realized she had fallen into a multi-level marketing scam.

Signs of illegal multi-level marketing

After several tense exchanges, from September to November 2015, Hoang Giang Phuc establishment in Thai Hoa town resolved the issue by requesting Mr. Cao Van Tho to buy back 10 product codes from her, worth 89.3 million VND, but deducting 30% for expenses. For the remaining codes, after deducting management fees, health care service fees (30 massage sessions), and office rent, 69.9 million VND was returned; at the same time, the previous bonus was demanded back…

In total, Ms. Huong lost approximately 40 million VND out of the 245 million VND she had invested.

Ms. Huong said sadly, "Only now do I truly see the deceptive nature of their business. They don't actually do any business; they just sweet-talk naive and uninformed people like us into giving them money, taking out loans, and handing it over to them. When I reported it to the police, I understood that to be a multi-level marketing salesperson, you have to undergo training and education before being issued a license. And you have to sell products genuinely to earn profits from the goods sold, not receive bonuses from your own money or the money of others like yourself."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong and her two products, a rice cooker and an induction cooker, both made in China, are unusable.

"We didn't receive any training or education. They issued us multi-level marketing membership cards, but we didn't sell anything. Because they didn't have any good sources of goods to sell. Who would buy those low-quality Chinese health supplements and electrical products?! The rice cookers and induction cookers I bought for my family broke down. When I received them, they gave me warranty cards, but they refused to provide warranty service, making up excuses and charging me 500,000 VND for repairs. It's not just me; many people in Nghia Trung have suffered the same fate..." – Ms. Huong said angrily.

Looking at the shoddy, damaged "products" labeled "Made in China," the incomplete order forms, and the transaction slips with unclear addresses; combined with the complaint and information provided by Ms. Huong, we determined that the Hoang Giang Phuc facility in Thai Hoa town, belonging to Thien Ngoc Minh Uy company, showed signs of engaging in illegal multi-level marketing activities.

Nhat Lan

(To be continued)