Seizing money from "job-running" scams into the police force

The jury sentenced defendant Nguyen Trong Minh for fraud and appropriation of property.

From money transfer scam to house purchase...

According to the indictment and the trial proceedings, on February 29, 2016, Mr. TMH (born in 1994, son of Mr. Tran Dinh Cuong, born in 1968, residing in Kim Chue village, An Duc commune, Ninh Giang) received a decision to be discharged from the army and return to his hometown after serving a term in the police force. Mr. Cuong's family wanted to apply for Mr. H. to work in the police force, so they told Minh, who lives in the same village, about this.

As a freelance worker, with no duties, authority, or connections to anyone in a position or authority in the police force to apply for a job or send Mr. H. to school to serve long-term in the police force, Minh provided false information that he knew someone in the police force and could find a job for Mr. H. for a cost of 600 million VND. If Mr. Cuong's family agreed, a deposit of 300 million VND would be paid in advance, and the remaining amount would be paid closer to the decision date.

Trusting Minh, Mr. Cuong agreed and transferred 300 million VND to Minh's account. Not keeping his promise to use the money to apply for a job, after receiving the 300 million VND, Minh withdrew the money for personal expenses. About 15 days later, Minh asked Mr. Cuong's family to transfer the remaining 300 million VND and prepare the job application. Following Minh's request, at the end of July 2016, Mr. Cuong and his wife went directly to Hanoi to meet Minh at a coffee shop to give Minh the 300 million VND and their son's job application.

After handing over the full amount of 600 million VND to Minh to arrange for a job, Mr. H. had not been able to find a job by the deadline, so Mr. Cuong tried to meet Minh many times to talk but could not contact him. On the evening of January 1, 2018 (lunar calendar), Mr. Cuong went to the house of a person in the same village and met and asked Minh about receiving money to find a job for Mr. H., but after a long time without being able to find a job as Minh had promised, he continued to promise. After that, because Mr. H. still could not find a job, Mr. Cuong urged Minh many times. Minh confessed that he could not find a job for Mr. H. but used Mr. Cuong's family's money for personal expenses and to buy a house on installments.

Mr. Cuong's family repeatedly asked Minh to pay the money, so around December 2018, Minh went to Mr. Cuong's house to ask for a debt extension and wrote a debt receipt himself and gave it to Mr. Cuong to keep. However, Minh still had not paid Mr. Cuong's family the above amount, so Mr. Cuong filed a complaint against Minh to the Investigation Police Agency (Hai Duong Provincial Police) requesting that it be handled according to the law.

... to prison

On the morning of July 19, the Provincial People's Court held a public first-instance trial of Nguyen Trong Minh for fraud and property appropriation. At the trial, defendant Minh did not admit to the amount of 600 million VND to apply for a job, but confirmed that he borrowed 350 million VND from Mr. Cuong in 2016 and was forced to write a debt note of 600 million VND. The defendant stated that he did not know anyone and did not ask anyone to apply for a job in the police force. He admitted to writing the receipt but did not have the money to pay the debt.

Judge Bui Dang Huy, the presiding judge of the trial, stated: “The criminal act of the defendant Minh is particularly dangerous, providing false information with the purpose of appropriating property for personal expenses. Based on the nature and level of danger to society of the criminal act, personal background, aggravating and mitigating circumstances of criminal responsibility, it is necessary to isolate the defendant from society for a long time to have the effect of individual education and general prevention.”

Based on the records, testimony of witnesses, appraisal results, related evidence... there is sufficient basis to conclude that the defendant Minh committed fraud. Minh is serving the sentence of two sentences in 2021 and 2022 of the Hanoi People's Court for fraud and appropriation of property with a total sentence of 14 years and 9 months in prison, the prison term starting from March 14, 2022.

The jury sentenced Nguyen Trong Minh to 12 years in prison for fraud and appropriation of property. Combining the sentences of the two previous sentences, Minh must serve a sentence of 26 years and 9 months in prison. Regarding civil liability, Minh must return 600 million VND to the victim.

SUCCESS