Authorities busted a massive online fundraising scam.

By the time of her arrest, Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong and her accomplices had embezzled nearly 140 billion VND by raising capital through the website hero8.org.

"Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc incites parishioners."

Sources from the Criminal Investigation Department for Economic and Official Crimes (PC46) of the Khanh Hoa Provincial Police said that they are coordinating with the Dong Nai Provincial Police to investigate a case involving the use of telephones, telecommunications networks, the Internet, or digital devices to commit acts of property appropriation related to the suspect Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, 39 years old, residing in Tan Hoa Ward, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, and several other individuals.

Since September 2016, several provinces and cities have seen numerous cases of fraud involving the misappropriation of assets through the website hero8.org, using the tactic of soliciting investments.

During the investigation, the High-Tech Crime Prevention Police Department (C50) of the General Department of Police – Ministry of Public Security and the PC46 Department of the Dong Nai Provincial Police determined that Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong and her accomplices contributed capital to establish Phuong Thai An Joint Stock Company, with its business office in Tan Hoa Ward, Bien Hoa City, and then hired people to create the website hero8.org to raise capital to expand their business in real estate, gold trading, car repair, etc., in the Phuong Thai An urban area.

The defendants are Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong and Pham Thanh Toan.

Those who invested capital through the website hero8.org would receive high interest rates. Phuong and his accomplices offered an investment solution using a PIN ID code. Those wishing to invest had to purchase a PIN ID code for 10.16 million VND, including a 2.16 million VND fee for the code, and the remaining 8 million VND would be used to generate profit.

To entice investors, Phuong and her accomplices presented a scheme where, after 5 days of investment, each PIN ID would receive 39.6 million VND in interest, and those who referred people to join the investment system through the hero8.org website in a multi-level marketing scheme would receive a commission.

Using the aforementioned fraudulent scheme, the website hero8.org managed to attract 21,405 customers from various provinces and cities to register for ID codes in a short period of time. However, those who invested through the website waited in vain and never received the promised profits and commissions.

By the time she was prosecuted and detained in early October 2016, the Dong Nai Provincial Police discovered that Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong and her accomplices had embezzled nearly 140 billion VND through a fundraising scheme via the website hero8.org. Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong herself embezzled approximately 104 billion VND, while her two accomplices, Pham Thanh Toan, 45, residing in Bien Hoa City, embezzled 15 billion VND, and Ho Dinh Phu, 24, residing in Lam Dong, embezzled 11 billion VND.

In Khanh Hoa province, the police have initially identified eight people who fell victim to the scam perpetrated by Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong and her accomplices. The PC46 Department of the Khanh Hoa Provincial Police requests that those who invested through the website hero8.org contact and cooperate with the investigating authorities as soon as possible to clarify the high-tech fraud perpetrated by Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong and her accomplices.

According to the People's Police Newspaper