'Drawing' contracts to raise investment capital for 'fictitious' land.

Forging the signatures of leaders

In mid-March 2018, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police received numerous complaints from victims in Vinh City alleging fraud.

Although the victims' complaints are from various locations, the fraudulent methods are mostly similar. The victims were scammed into paying money under the pretext of converting land use rights, purchasing land for high profits, etc. Notably, all the complaints accuse the perpetrators of fraud of being officials from the land development fund center.

Based on the documents provided by the citizens, investigators proceeded to collect and verify the information. All the documents the suspect gave to the victims bore the signatures of the center's leaders and the center's official seal, conforming to the legally prescribed document format. However, at that time, initial examination revealed that the center's seal was correct according to current regulations, while the signatures were determined to be forged.

Recognizing this as a deliberate act of fraud and misappropriation of property, investigators decided to initiate a criminal case and prosecute Tran Xuan Ha (born in 1983), residing in Hung Phuc commune, Hung Nguyen district, for the crime of "Fraudulent misappropriation of property". At the time of his arrest, Tran Xuan Ha held the position of Deputy Head of Land Clearance Department 3 of the Vinh City Land Fund Development Center.

During the investigation, Ha confessed that one of his first "business deals" involved forging handwritten documents granting exemptions from land use fees and creating land titles for victims. While working on the 72m road project in Nghi Phu commune (Vinh City), Tran Xuan Ha inadvertently learned that Mr. Le Trong Tr. had received over 5 billion VND in government compensation, including land and assets on the land.

Because she needed money to pay off her debts, Ha came up with the idea.fraud and misappropriation of propertyThrough the guise of being the Deputy Head of the Land Development Center, Ha contacted Mr. Tr. and claimed she could handle the procedures for land use fee exemption and obtain a land title deed for him. Trusting Ha's outward appearance, Mr. Tr. didn't hesitate and transferred money to Ha twice, totaling 2.1 billion VND.

Seeing that the "business" seemed promising, Ha devised a new scheme to gain the trust of the victims. Using a prior acquaintance, Ha approached Mr. Pham Cong B., a land management official in Hung Phuc ward (Vinh City), about investing in a land purchase and sale contract to make a profit.

Trusting the facade Ha created and the contract that Ha had "meticulously" forged the signature of the Deputy Director of the Land Development Center of Vinh City, Mr. B. unsuspectingly handed over 1 billion VND that he had saved to Ha.

Another case of deception by Ha involved Mr. Nguyen Van H. During their work together, due to their acquaintance, Ha learned that Mr. H., the head of Hamlet 17, Nghi Phu Commune, was looking to buy land. Tran Xuan Ha immediately lied to Mr. H., claiming that he needed to sell plot A16 belonging to Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly.

On April 4, 2018, Ha drew up a contract to transfer land plot A16 and received 500 million VND from Mr. H. Later, claiming she needed money for the transfer of ownership, Ha took an additional 100 million VND from Mr. H.

Thus, in a short period of time, Tran Xuan Ha defrauded eight victims of a total of 9.6 billion VND. The defendant claimed that all the money was used to pay off personal debts, and there are no records documenting this.

The Path of Fall

Tran Xuan Ha was born into a well-off family and received a good education from his parents. After graduating from university in Hanoi with a degree in land management, Ha was assigned to work at the Land Development Center of Vinh City, in line with his field of study.

During her time working at the center, Ha demonstrated her competence and qualifications, earning the title of Emulation Soldier for many consecutive years and receiving a Certificate of Commendation from the Vinh City People's Committee. With these achievements, Ha was appointed Deputy Head of Land Clearance Department 3 of the center. However, in her new role, faced with many temptations, Tran Xuan Ha failed to maintain her integrity and did not set a good example in carrying out her assigned duties.

Around this time, due to a lack of investment capital for several outside business ventures, Ha fell into debt. In his desperate situation, he planned to commit fraud.

Having worked for many years at the Vinh City Land Development Center, with functions and duties related to land appraisal, land clearance, and compensation and resettlement, Ha was well aware of many people who had received land compensation. Exploiting the trust that people placed in appraisal officers, who were also leaders of a department, Ha proactively sought out and befriended wealthy individuals seeking to invest in businesses for high profits. She then forged the signatures of leaders and used the center's seal to create investment contracts and loan agreements with the content of investing in land purchases for high profits, promising to obtain land use right certificates and transfer land use rights… in order to embezzle the people's assets.

The trial of defendant Tran Xuan Ha for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" was held at the end of February 2019.

At the trial, the representative of the Procuratorate stated that property rights are protected by the Constitution and criminal law, and are inviolable rights of citizens. The defendant, being educated and working in the field of land compensation, understood that his actions were fraudulent and illegal. Despite knowing the law strictly prohibited it, he disregarded it, using sophisticated tactics to gain the trust of the people in order to carry out his fraudulent scheme. The defendant's actions were particularly serious, eroding public trust in state agencies and affecting security and order in the area.

When given the opportunity to speak his final words, defendant Tran Xuan Ha expressed remorse and regret: "I apologize to the victims and hope to receive leniency from the law so that I can soon return to work and earn money to compensate for the consequences."

Upon hearing the court sentence her to 18 years in prison for "fraudulent appropriation of property," and order her to compensate the victims for the entire amount stolen, Ha turned to her relatives, raising her handcuffed hands to wipe away tears. Educated and with a respectable social standing, yet driven by financial hardship and debt, she disregarded the law, leading to her imprisonment – ​​that is the price Tran Xuan Ha must pay.