Kera candy case: Thuy Tien was proposed special mitigating circumstances
Miss Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien and her accomplices are about to stand trial for defrauding customers. The prosecution agency has requested to consider many mitigating circumstances, with Thuy Tien having the additional factor of 'excellent achievements'.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court is scheduled to open the first instance trial of Miss Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien and her accomplices for "Customer Fraud" on November 19. During the prosecution, the authorities have proposed applying many mitigating circumstances, especially a factor specific to Thuy Tien.
The defendants in the case include Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien, Le Tuan Linh (Director of Chi Em Rot Group Joint Stock Company), Le Thanh Cong (Member of the Board of Directors), Nguyen Thi Thai Hang (Hang Du Muc) and Pham Quang Linh (Quang Linh Vlogs). The Supreme People's Procuracy prosecuted the defendants under Point d, Clause 2, Article 198 of the Penal Code, with a possible penalty of up to 5 years in prison.
Mitigating circumstances are considered
According to the indictment, all the defendants had no aggravating circumstances. During the investigation, all five voluntarily confessed, repented, had no criminal record, and contributed to many charitable activities.
The defendants also influenced the family to return the illegally obtained money, specifically:
- Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien: 3.2 billion VND
- Nguyen Thi Thai Hang: 2.18 billion VND
- Pham Quang Linh: 1.2 billion VND
- Le Thanh Cong: 1.6 billion VND
- Le Tuan Linh: 600 million VND
Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien was proposed to be given additional mitigating circumstances according to point v, clause 1, Article 51 of the Penal Code, because she "has excellent achievements in studying and working". This circumstance is based on the fact that she was awarded a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Young Vietnamese Faces in 2021.
Allegations of customer fraud
The case file identifies the product involved as the dietary supplement SuperGreens Gummies ("Kera candy"), owned by Chi Em Rot Company and responsible for its quality. The product is processed and packaged by Asia Company.
The prosecution accused the defendants of failing to check and monitor the quality of the products. They were said to have known that the fiber content in each candy was only 0.935%, not as effective as advertised. In addition, the processing company did not have a raw material area that met VietGAP standards and the origin of the raw materials was not scientifically verified.
However, the defendants still issued self-declared product declarations with false information about ingredients, and created scripts and filmed videos falsely introducing the origin, technology and uses on social networks.
As a result, from December 12, 2024 to March 14, 2025, 56,385 customers bought 129,617 boxes of candy, bringing in total revenue of 17.55 billion VND. The amount of illegal profits was determined to be 12.46 billion VND.
