How is the charity fraud at Tinh That Bong Lai carried out?

Turning a house into a temple, committing incestuous acts, giving false information about raising orphans who are actually children... - these things happened at the household of Ms. Cao Thi Cuc (64 years old, from An Giang) in Lap Thanh hamlet, Hoa Khanh Tay commune, Duc Hoa district, Long An province.

This is a gathering place that used to be called Tinh That Bong Lai, later named Thien Am Ben Bo Vu Co. The illegal activities and acts that took place here have now been gradually clarified by Long An Provincial Police. The key point is that all the above-mentioned acts and developments were for the purpose of charity fraud.

Most recently, the Long An Provincial Police Department's Security Investigation Agency prosecuted Le Thanh Nhat Nguyen (33 years old) for "Fraudulent appropriation of property". Nguyen is one of the most active charity fraudsters.

Previously, at the end of 2022, the Investigation Security Agency, Long An Provincial Police initiated a criminal case of "fraudulent appropriation of property" that occurred at the self-proclaimed Tinh That Bong Lai gathering place organized by Mr. Le Tung Van (92 years old). After that, the case was temporarily suspended when the deadline expired, pending the results of the appraisal. By early July, the authorities had resumed the investigation of the case.

So how did the scam at this controversial location take place and how sophisticated was it?

Lies at the Pure Land Monastery

The first lie that must be mentioned is that Ms. Cao Thi Cuc's family turned their house into a temple, with a shrine in the middle of the house like the main hall of a Buddhist monastery.

The members of Mrs. Cuc’s family all have short hair, wear monk-like clothes, and call themselves monks, nuns, monks, novices, etc. They organize activities like in a Buddhist monastery. These people produce many clips, post them on social media, in which they claim that this is a temple, a hermitage of the Church.

Regarding Mr. Le Tung Van, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has confirmed that he has never been ordained, has never received the novice or monk ordination. However, he has self-proclaimed himself as abbot, monk, Venerable Thich Tam Duc or “Grandfather’s Teacher”. And Mr. Van has publicly performed ordination ceremonies for other Buddhists.

Clips produced by the Tinh That Bong Lai group and posted on social media also led others to believe that this was a temple, honoring Mr. Le Tung Van as a "living Buddha".

The children living at Tinh That Bong Lai are called "little monks". Even in clips on social networks or on television, the children are introduced as orphans adopted by the temple.

But in reality, these children are living with their biological mothers. They are instructed to address each other differently, in order to hide their mother-child nature. In the children's basic documents, only the mother's name is shown, so that the group at Tinh That Bong Lai can carry out their fraudulent intentions.

In addition, incest also occurred at Tinh That Bong Lai. This is a case that has been thoroughly investigated and DNA tested by the Security Investigation Agency of Long An Province Police. 3 months ago, the authorities prosecuted Mr. Le Tung Van for the crime of "incest".

How did the group of people at Tinh That Bong Lai cheat?

According to records, in the 1990s, Mr. Le Tung Van established a place called Thanh Duc Orphanage and Nursing Home, located in Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. This place was introduced as a facility for orphans, homeless elderly people, etc., and from there, money and charity materials poured in from everywhere.

Around 2007, the Thanh Duc Orphanage and Nursing Home was "noticed" for operating without a license and was accused of child abuse and impersonating orphans to defraud charity. Authorities stepped in to investigate but there was no evidence. After that, the facility was shut down.

Nearly 10 years later, Mr. Le Tung Van reappeared at the household of Ms. Cao Thi Cuc, with a facility called Tinh That Bong Lai. Compared to Thanh Duc Orphanage and Nursing Home, Tinh That Bong Lai is a form of "old wine in new bottles", also used to scam charity. However, with the help of social networks, the scams have become more sophisticated and methodical.

The most impressive scenario is that many individuals at Tinh That Bong Lai appeared on television in monk costumes, claiming to be orphans raised by "Grandfather Teacher". The leniency of the game show helped them create personal images that touched the hearts of many viewers, especially the 5 children who won high prizes when participating in two seasons of the show "Comedy Challenge".

Since then, money and charitable gifts from benefactors at home and abroad have poured into Tinh That Bong Lai.

Not only "on TV", the individuals at Tinh That Bong Lai have "given birth" to a series of YouTube channels such as: 5 little monks - Thien am ben bo vu tru, Nhat Nguyen - Hoan Nguyen, Nhat Nguyen - Thien am ben bo vu tru, Hoan Nguyen - Thien am ben bo vu tru, Le Thanh Huyen Tran Official..., or a series of personal Facebook pages and Fanpages with similar names.

All of the above social media channels and accounts are for the purpose of receiving charity. On social media sites, the introduction section always calls for charity donations with 2 personal account numbers of Le Thanh Hoan Nguyen and Le Thanh Nhat Nguyen, even with contact information for advertising.

Individuals at the Bong Lai Monastery diligently create scenarios, mainly around the “5 monks”, to produce video clips. These clips are posted on platforms to seek sympathy from the community, thereby collecting money and goods to help.

Le Thanh Nhat Nguyen is one of the people who received charity money through personal accounts or directly. Up to now, Long An Provincial Police have clarified the content of the accusation against Nhat Nguyen and initiated an investigation.

However, in addition to Nhat Nguyen, there are many other people involved in the scam. Currently, the provincial police continue to request that those who have been scammed by individuals living at Tinh That Bong Lai contact them as soon as possible to report and provide information to serve the investigation.