Hanoi (VNA) - Police in Hanoi’s Hoang Mai district said on August 21 theyhad issued decisions to start legal proceedings against and detain four suspectsfor allegedly engaging in a wire fraud scheme seeking to profit from theCOVID-19 pandemic.
They facecharges of “appropriation of property using a computer network,telecommunications network, or electronic device.”
Thedecision has been transferred to the district’s People’s Procuracy for approval.
The four suspectsare Nguyen Duy Toan and Phan Dinh Thu, both 33 and from Dong Son district,Thanh Hoa province, Tran Quoc Khanh, 36, from Hoang Mai district, and Do ChiHuy, 27, from Dak Lak province. Toan is accused of being the mastermind behindthe fraud.
In May,the Ministry of Public Security and the US’s Homeland Security Investigation(HSI) began a joint probe into a gang of Vietnamese who created 110 e-commerce websitesthat fraudulently offered medical products much sought-after during thepandemic, such as face masks, hand sanitiser, and toilet paper.
About7,000 American victims had attempted to purchase these items from the websites.They made payments through e-wallets but never received the goods. The transactionsare estimated to total around 975,000 USD.
In asearch of the suspects’ apartment in Linh Dam in Hoang Mai, police seized sevencomputer cases, three desktops, two laptops, and documents relating to theircriminal activities./.
They facecharges of “appropriation of property using a computer network,telecommunications network, or electronic device.”
Thedecision has been transferred to the district’s People’s Procuracy for approval.
The four suspectsare Nguyen Duy Toan and Phan Dinh Thu, both 33 and from Dong Son district,Thanh Hoa province, Tran Quoc Khanh, 36, from Hoang Mai district, and Do ChiHuy, 27, from Dak Lak province. Toan is accused of being the mastermind behindthe fraud.
In May,the Ministry of Public Security and the US’s Homeland Security Investigation(HSI) began a joint probe into a gang of Vietnamese who created 110 e-commerce websitesthat fraudulently offered medical products much sought-after during thepandemic, such as face masks, hand sanitiser, and toilet paper.
About7,000 American victims had attempted to purchase these items from the websites.They made payments through e-wallets but never received the goods. The transactionsare estimated to total around 975,000 USD.
In asearch of the suspects’ apartment in Linh Dam in Hoang Mai, police seized sevencomputer cases, three desktops, two laptops, and documents relating to theircriminal activities./.
VNA
