Eliminated a gang of more than 200 scammers who defrauded hundreds of thousands of victims nationwide

Previously, on June 17, under the direction of Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Long - Deputy Minister, Head of the Investigation Police Agency of the Ministry of Public Security, the Criminal Police Department coordinated with professional units of the Ministry and Ho Chi Minh City Police to eradicate an organized crime gang, disguised as a business with hundreds of employees, using high technology and electronic means to commit acts of property appropriation of hundreds of thousands of victims across the country (mainly the elderly, over 50 years old), causing great indignation among the masses.

This gang is led by Tran Quang Dao (born 1992), residing in Dong Thanh commune, Hoc Mon district, Ho Chi Minh City, with a previous conviction for "Theft of property", operating in many locations in Ho Chi Minh City.

The police force simultaneously searched many locations, including the headquarters of 4 companies established by Tran Quang Dao through relatives in Ho Chi Minh City, including: Ressun Trading and Service Company Limited; Tiktok Shop Resshose Company; Rees Mark Company Limited; Lesson Trading and Service Company Limited and warehouses, discovering 218 related subjects.

Of these, 149 subjects are female, nearly 40 subjects hold the roles of department heads, managers, and team leaders under the direction of Tran Quang Dao to commit fraud, appropriating property of the elderly, those lacking information, not knowledgeable about technology, vulnerable, with no income or low income and in need of social care and protection. The subjects' modus operandi is to defraud through giving gifts of nutritional foods, health care, promotions of household products, etc.

Authorities seized 65 laptops, 21 computers, 301 desktop phones, over 220 mobile phones, along with many related papers, books, documents, objects, and vehicles.

At the investigation agency, the subjects confessed to the following crime: Taking advantage of the disclosure and sale of personal information on social networks, the subjects pretended to be employees of medical facilities and nutrition hospitals, using internet software to encrypt outgoing phone numbers to advise on gifts, entice and invite the elderly to use nutritional products and functional foods, and pay fees to receive promotional prizes for the next time they buy household products and electronics.

To create trust, the subjects would gradually increase the prize value, the payment level and commit to refund after receiving the promotional products. However, later, the subjects did not follow through on their commitment and appropriated the money that the victims had paid.

According to preliminary statistics, from the beginning of 2023 until now, the subjects have appropriated the assets of hundreds of thousands of people with an amount of up to hundreds of billions of VND, mainly the elderly, low-income, dependent on pensions, savings, family subsidies, needing support, health care but lacking market information, products, and technological knowledge.

In the past 100 days alone, the subjects have appropriated over 50 billion VND from more than 10,000 victims. To run the criminal activities, Tran Quang Dat asked his relatives to establish 4 companies and rented locations, purchased tools and vehicles for operations.

In companies, the Dao is organized according to the model of departments and teams (Administrative, human resources, accounting; business; customer care) and is clearly managed, assigned, and decentralized from the general management role to the department heads, team leaders, and direct employees.

Also according to the Criminal Police Department, this is the case of using computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic means to defraud and appropriate property led by a Vietnamese subject, operating in Vietnam with a tightly organized scale, hiding under the guise of a business, and with the largest number of participants ever to be broken up by the police agency.

Currently, the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency is focusing on fighting and exploiting the subjects to consolidate evidence; at the same time, investigating and clarifying the criminal acts of other related subjects to strictly handle them in accordance with the provisions of the law.