Woman pays a heavy price for trusting a boastful person claiming to know a leader: She lost over 2.3 billion VND.

Trusting the promise, the woman lost over 2.3 billion VND.

The People's Court of Nghe An province recently opened a trial for four defendants: Hoang Hiep (born in 1990), Pham Duy Vuong (born in 1983), Pham Ngoc Minh (born in 1984), and Vo Thanh Danh (born in 1976), all residing in Ho Chi Minh City, on charges of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" through the scheme of bribing officials to influence court decisions. The victim in the case is a woman from Nghe An - Ms. Nguyen Thi Linh (37 years old, the victim's name has been changed).

The mastermind behind this case-fixing scam is Hoang Hiep. This young man works as a freelancer and had previously helped people illegally flee the country, receiving a two-year suspended sentence in December 2022. While serving his sentence locally, Hiep reoffended, continuing to organize illegal emigration. In addition, he also committed fraud by promising to "fix" reduced sentences.

The "prey" he targeted was a woman he knew from Nghe An province. In April 2023, Ms. Linh confided in Hiep about the fact that three of her family members – her husband, younger brother, and older brother – had been prosecuted by authorities for "Violating regulations on the protection of endangered and rare animals," with a potential sentence of 10-15 years in prison.

Upon hearing this, Hiep introduced himself as someone with connections who could help reduce the sentence for Linh's family. Hiep asserted, "I can get a suspended sentence for Linh's husband and younger brother, and for her older brother, since he was the ringleader, I can get his sentence reduced from Clause 3 to Clause 1." Seeing that Linh trusted him, Hiep began contacting several people to arrange the matter.

Initially, Hoang Hiep contacted Pham Ngoc Minh to see if anyone could help Linh's three family members get their sentences reduced. Through a connection made by someone Minh introduced, Hiep learned about Pham Duy Vuong.

Vuong only completed junior high school and had previously served time in prison for "theft of property." Although he was just a freelance worker, when he met Hiep and Ms. Linh in Ho Chi Minh City, Vuong boasted about knowing many influential people and being able to "fix" the case. When Ms. Linh asked about the cost, he said, "To get two of Ms. Linh's family members given suspended sentences, it would cost 1.1 billion VND, and to get one more person's sentence reduced to Clause 1, it would cost 1.9 billion VND." Vuong finalized the price at 3 billion VND for all three and demanded half of that amount upfront.

From August 15, 2023 to January 26, 2024, Ms. Linh transferred 2.33 billion VND to Hiep. After receiving the money, Hiep transferred over 1.4 billion VND to Vuong, and kept the rest for himself.

As the trial date approached and there was no sign of Vuong's involvement, Hiep became worried. He called Minh for help. Minh said he could handle it and told Hiep to withdraw the money he had previously asked Vuong for to secure a reduced sentence. After being pressured by Hiep to return the money, Vuong transferred 1 billion 50 million dong to Hiep, claiming he had spent the remaining amount.

As for Minh, after agreeing to help Hiep get a reduced sentence, he didn't contact anyone in authority to request a reduction for Linh's family member, but instead asked Vo Thanh Danh for help. Danh told Minh that if he wanted to find someone to help, he would have to pay for entertainment and travel expenses, and that Minh could decide how much. At this point, Minh quoted a price of 100 million dong, and Danh agreed.

However, when Minh spoke with Hiep again, he increased the price for getting the sentence reduced to 300 million VND. Trusting him, Hiep transferred the money to Minh. After receiving the money, Minh gave Danh 90 million VND and kept the rest for himself.

Subsequently, three of Linh's family members were sentenced by the first-instance court to prison terms ranging from 6 to 7 years and 6 months. After the first-instance trial, Hiep reassured Linh, saying, "You don't have to worry about the appeal," and advised her to guide her family members in filing an appeal. However, the appellate court later upheld the first-instance verdict against the defendants.

Noticing signs of fraud by Hoang Hiep, on November 10, 2024, Ms. Linh reported the fraudulent activities of the suspects to the Nghe An Police. On January 17, 2025, the police arrested Hoang Hiep. Subsequently, Minh, Vuong, and Danh successively surrendered to the police, admitting their crimes.

A costly lesson

In response to the judges' questions, Hoang Hiep stated that his intention was to help Linh's relatives. However, when questioned about how he helped or whether he only took money from the victim, Hiep remained silent.

Later, the defendant stated that after receiving over 2.3 billion VND from the victim, he transferred over 1.4 billion VND to Vuong. He kept the remaining money "because it was for travel expenses and his commission," Hiep explained. Hiep said that he didn't know Vuong beforehand and only met him through an introduction, which led him and Ms. Linh to meet him. Hiep claimed that he was the victim in this case because he trusted Vuong's words.

Meanwhile, the victim asserted that from the very beginning, Hiep was the one who initiated the conversation, promising to take care of the "business" for her family. "Hiep told me he knew the nephew of a high-ranking official in the central government who could arrange everything," the victim stated in court.

The woman then added that when Hiep took her to meet the defendant Vuong, she had no trust in him at all because his appearance and demeanor resembled that of a motorbike taxi driver. She thought that such a person couldn't possibly have the connections to help with the case. However, Hiep repeatedly reassured her that he was helping his family. "Hiep even told me that he was looking for his children, so this was like doing a good deed, helping me to accumulate merit for himself. Believing those words, I agreed to transfer over 2 billion VND," the victim explained.

The panel of judges analyzed that the defendants' actions violated the law; however, the victim's initial actions were also wrong. It is unacceptable to bribe or interfere with the judicial process; that is a violation of the law. The victim remained silent for a moment before explaining that her family had fallen into dire straits because she believed the defendants. Three of her relatives are currently serving sentences, and she faces immense financial pressure as she has yet to recover all the money she was scammed out of.

Reportedly, after committing the crime, defendants Minh and Danh fully compensated the victim for the stolen money, and the victim wrote a letter requesting leniency. Defendants Hiep and Vuong apologized to the victim and promised to influence their families to repay the remaining amount owed.

The court determined that the defendants' actions violated the law, were dangerous to society, and constituted the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property." In this case, defendant Hoang Hiep committed the primary crime and was sentenced to 14 years in prison; combined with a previous sentence, the defendant must serve a total of 22 years in prison. Defendant Pham Duy Vuong was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison. Defendants Pham Ngoc Minh and Vo Thanh Danh, due to mitigating circumstances and having returned the money to the victims, were sentenced to 3 years in prison and 2 years in prison respectively, but with a suspended sentence.

Greed and recklessness led the defendants to disregard the law, concocting a scheme to "fix" court cases and swindle money from others. The sentences handed down by the court are a fitting price for their criminal acts. The case also serves as a warning that any illegal interference in judicial proceedings is a violation of the law, and gullibility or impatience in seeking "shortcuts" easily turns people into victims of fraudsters.