“Trials Begin for the Group Involved in the Phó Đức Nam and Lê Khắc Ngọ-Linked Scam”

Unraveling a Sophisticated Scam: The Masterminds Behind the Fraud Unveiled

On September 4th, the Hanoi People’s Court tried and prosecuted Bui Trung Duc (DOB: 1992, residing in An Khanh Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City), Thai Anh Dao (DOB: 2001, residing in Thu Thiem Ward, old Thu Duc), Le Trung Ai (DOB: 1994, residing in An Nhon town, old Binh Dinh province), Bui Ngoc Trinh (DOB: 1998, residing in Thuy Tay commune, old Thach Hoa district, Long An province), and 15 accomplices on charges of “Fraudulent Appropriation of Property”.

According to the case files, in 2022, Bui Trung Duc and his accomplices organized a large-scale and sophisticated investment fraud ring involving international securities.

The group established dozens of shell companies, dividing their operations into specialized departments such as accounting, human resources, information technology, business, and customer service. While operating independently, these departments worked in close coordination to defraud numerous individuals.

Despite lacking the requisite licenses in the fields of finance and securities, Duc and his accomplices offered investment advice and lured people into participating in “international securities markets” through software applications such as MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). They utilized websites with names similar to international exchanges, such as ZenoMarkets, Londonex, CHMarkets, TradeTime, LPLTrade, and DexInvesting, to confuse and deceive potential investors.

However, these websites were merely pre-programmed facades, devoid of any actual connection to global financial markets. Each exchange was linked to a banking system controlled by Duc’s group.

The investors (victims) would be provided access to the exchange by customer service employees (known as sales agents) who would then guide them through the process of depositing funds and executing buy and sell orders. Every action taken by the investors was carefully manipulated and controlled.

Initially, investors were allowed to win small orders and withdraw funds effortlessly to build their trust. Subsequently, the sales agents would entice investors to deposit additional funds, promising quick profits and guaranteed high returns. Once the investors deposited larger sums, they would be subjected to “order failures” or experience “account burnouts,” resulting in complete financial loss.

To conceal their fraudulent activities, Bui Trung Duc and his accomplices established 27 companies to recruit personnel, lease servers, store call recordings, and rent phone numbers for the Zoiper communication application.

Furthermore, Duc and the operation managers established additional companies such as Rowna, Audrey, Ambrose, DVA, Uni VN, Sysnet VN, and Sodial VN. They registered and opened numerous bank accounts linked to the legal entities of these companies at different banks.

Over 11 Billion VND Appropriated from 12 Incidents

Duc also rented at least 15 offices in Ho Chi Minh City and the old Binh Duong province, primarily in prominent buildings such as Metro Tower (Binh Thanh), M Building (District 7), and Rubicon (old Thu Duc), as well as several apartments. These offices operated discreetly, without signage, and the employees were provided with anonymous accounts, restricted to internal movement only, and prohibited from using technology to avoid detection.

Additionally, the group outsourced company registration, ownership changes, and bank account openings through a chain of intermediaries. One such intermediary, Vi Vi Nguyen VNC Co., Ltd. (directed by Mr. Nguyen Vu Vi Vi), altered ownership records for at least 65 companies in Duc’s network for a fee of $1,000 per file. These procedures were conducted based on oral agreements, without contracts, to leave no paper trail.

The group meticulously controlled the flow of funds from investors through internal support departments (support, checkbill, and bank account management). When an investor transferred money, the sales agent would send a copy of the invoice to the support department for verification, after which the checkbill department would access a link to confirm receipt of the funds. Subsequently, this department would either return a small amount to the investor to build trust or transfer the funds elsewhere upon the instruction of Pham Duc Nam, who oversaw the group’s operations in Vietnam.

According to the prosecution, the appropriated funds were laundered through various methods, including conversion to cash, gold purchases from jewelry stores, or conversion to electronic money such as USDT to avoid traceability. A portion of the funds was used to pay salaries and bonuses to employees, purchase equipment, and rent offices.

From December 2022 to May 2023, numerous victims in Hanoi and other provinces fell prey to this elaborate scam. In just 12 incidents, the group defrauded 12 victims of a total of over 11 billion VND by inviting them to invest in financial schemes and diverting their funds through shell companies, ultimately manipulating their accounts and stealing their money.

Among the victims mentioned in the indictment were Ms. Le Thi Anh T., who lost more than 6.77 billion VND through the ZenoMarket platform, and Ms. Tran Thi Thuy L., who was defrauded of over 3.23 billion VND through the Londonex platform.

The group’s modus operandi involved gaining the victims’ trust through the Telegram application, guiding them through the process of placing “buy/sell” orders for stocks, and manipulating the stock prices. Once the victims deposited substantial amounts, the perpetrators would either lock their accounts or manipulate their balances to show negative equity.

One of the accused, Tran Vu Trong Duc, defrauded Ms. Vu Thi Thu H. of 299 million VND by posing as a consulting team leader and making demands such as “to withdraw money, more deposits are needed” and offering “100% bonus on further investments” to coerce the victim into transferring funds to the accounts of several companies. Other victims were targeted using multiple communication channels such as Zalo, Telegram, and Zoiper, creating a professional facade and impersonating financial company employees. The scammers sent images of billion-dollar transfers, claimed the presence of “large investors,” and employed other deceptive tactics to lure victims into depositing more money.

Whenever a victim attempted to withdraw funds, the group would provide excuses such as “lack of maintenance funds for orders,” “need to deposit to withdraw,” or “require additional capital to prevent account burnout.”

The prosecuting agency determined that in just these 12 incidents, the group had defrauded 12 victims of a total of over 11 billion VND. Bui Trung Duc and his accomplices utilized more than 10 bank accounts held by companies such as Rowna, Ambrose, SODIAL, and UNI VN to legitimize the ill-gotten funds.