A fugitive wanted by the police continued to impersonate a colonel in the Security Investigation Department to scam many people into obtaining land ownership certificates.
While on the run, Pham Van Thao (born in 1991), a suspect with three previous convictions for "theft of property," used a fake police identification card under the name Le Nhat Phong, impersonating a police officer to commit fraud and misappropriate property.
On July 21st, the Investigation Security Department (ANĐT) of the Ministry of Public Security announced that it had completed its investigation report and forwarded the file to the Supreme People's Procuracy, recommending the prosecution of Pham Van Thao (registered residence in Tay Yen A commune, An Bien district, Kien Giang province, now Hai Tot hamlet, Tay Yen commune, An Giang province) on two charges: "Using forged documents of an agency or organization" and "Fraudulent appropriation of property"
The case originated from information received by the Investigation Security Agency of the Ministry of Public Security regarding an individual named Le Nhat Phong, who falsely claimed to be a "Colonel, Deputy Director of the Investigation Security Department of the Ministry of Public Security" to defraud numerous individuals in several southern provinces. While the Investigation Security Agency of the Ministry of Public Security was still receiving this information, the following day (February 21st), they received information from the Investigation Security Agency of the Lam Dong Provincial Police regarding the aforementioned individual…
Through investigation, officers determined that Phong's real name is Pham Van Thao; the suspect is a fugitive wanted at 2A Hoang Van Thu Street, Ward 5, Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province. Based on the collected documents, on February 25th, the Security Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Public Security issued a decision to initiate a criminal case and prosecute Thao for the crimes of "Using forged documents of an agency or organization" and "Fraudulent appropriation of property" for further investigation.
The investigation determined that during her detention awaiting the execution of two sentences totaling 30 months of imprisonment for "theft of property" (September 2015), Thao suffered from a debilitating illness that rendered her unable to walk. Therefore, the Rach Gia City People's Court, Kien Giang Province, issued Decision No. 2/2015/QDCA replacing the detention measure with a family bail for medical treatment. Around June 2016, after recovering from her illness, the defendant did not report to the local authorities where she resided to receive the sentence execution decision (30 months of imprisonment) but instead fled the area and was subsequently wanted by the Criminal Enforcement Agency of Kien Giang Province.
During her time on the run, Thảo ordered a fake ID card under the name Lê Nhật Phong on Facebook for her own use. According to Thảo's statement to the Security Investigation Agency, she used her personal phone to take pictures of herself and sent them to a Facebook account that advertised the production of fake documents.
While on the run from March 2019 to February 2020, Thao rented a house from Ms. H' Yong in Quang Son commune, Dak Glong district, Dak Nong province (now Quang Son commune, Lam Dong province) to live and work. During his time there, Thao used the alias Le Nhat Phong, impersonating a police officer on duty and claiming to have many connections with relevant authorities. He then contacted and befriended several households, learning that they needed land use right certificates for their long-cultivated land. Therefore, Thao devised a plan to defraud them by organizing meetings at the house of Ms. Duong Thi Khoa (the girlfriend of the accused Pham Van Thao) in Quang Son commune; demanding that anyone wanting a land use right certificate pay him money to contact relevant authorities to process the paperwork; each land use right certificate required a payment of 30 million VND to Thao.
To gain the trust of the victims, Thao purchased a fake certificate of ownership of housing and other assets attached to land under the name Le Nhat Phong, born on June 15, 1979, ID card number: 025700272, code CK 168994, issued by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, online. She then showed it to the victims to prove that she was capable of obtaining a land use right certificate.
Believing that Thao was a police officer who could handle land and property documents, Mr. K' Lieng, Ms. HGlang, Mr. K'Kril, Ms. Duong Thi Khoa, Ms. H'Lang, Mr. K'Ly, and Mr. Luu Van Hung (residents of Quang Son commune) gave the suspect over 272 million VND to contact relevant authorities to obtain land use rights certificates for their long-cultivated land.
After receiving money from the victims, Thao fled from Quang Hop village, Quang Son commune, Dak Giong district, Dak Nong province (now Quang Son commune). Upon discovering that Thao had absconded and failed to repay the money, the victims filed a report with the Criminal Investigation Department of Dak Glong District Police, accusing Le Nhat Phong, born in 1979 (a false name and year of birth used by the suspect), of "Fraudulent appropriation of property".
During the investigation, the Security Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Public Security also clarified that, not stopping there, in September 2023, Thao continued to search on Facebook to buy fake citizen identification cards (CCCD), driver's licenses, police identification cards, police accessories, and People's Army uniforms, etc. Then, through the Messenger messaging application, the suspect provided information, took photos, and sent images of herself to order the fake documents. Accordingly, the suspect purchased a total of 2 fake CCCDs, 1 fake police identification card, and police uniforms for 2.5 million VND.
When agencies, organizations, and individuals discover acts of impersonation or impersonation of police officers to commit violations of the law, they should immediately report it to the nearest police station for timely action.
