Protect clients from property fraud

I. Case Summary

• “One of the essential skills of a lawyer is defending clients in criminal cases. Currently, fraud and embezzlement occur in many forms, from traditional methods like personal contact to more modern forms like social media and the internet. Protecting clients from fraud and embezzlement is one of the missions of Inter Justice lawyers.”
• Since 2020, Ms. T met Mr. A through social connections. After talking and sharing many aspects of their lives, they became friends. Both had Zalo accounts, and A repeatedly used Zalo to message Ms. T, borrowing small amounts of money and repaying it on time. From around July 2020, A frequently messaged Ms. T, recounting his difficult family circumstances, mentioning his parents’ frequent illnesses and his younger sister’s chronic ailments. Ms. T sympathized with A’s family situation. Taking advantage of Ms. T’s kindness, A repeatedly messaged her, claiming his father was seriously ill and needed surgery, and that he needed her help by lending him money. Upon receiving A’s pleas for help, Ms. T transferred money to A on several occasions.

 

The use of social media for fraudulent purposes is becoming increasingly common.

• In October 2020, A messaged T, claiming he needed to borrow money for his mother’s funeral and detailing his family’s dire circumstances, including his father’s illness requiring medical treatment, leaving him with no one else to rely on except T. Believing A’s plea for help to be genuine, T continued to transfer money to A for his mother’s funeral and father’s medical expenses. Trusting A’s information, T made numerous money transfers to A’s account, totaling 2 billion VND. As collateral, A even gave T his driver’s license as collateral for loans. Later, A failed to repay T, admitting to investing all the borrowed money in forex trading, and subsequently cut off contact and left his residence.
• Distressed by the misplaced compassion, Ms. T sought legal advice on how to resolve the issue of property misappropriation.

II. Legal regulations related to the matter

Article 46. Judicial measures

1. Judicial measures against offenders include:

b) Return the property, repair or compensate for the damage; require a public apology;

Article 174. The crime of fraud and appropriation of property

4. Committing an offense falling under one of the following circumstances shall be punishable by imprisonment from 12 to 20 years or life imprisonment:

a) Appropriation of property worth VND 500,000,000 or more;

III. Legal Advice

• A’s actions show signs of misappropriation of property, so Ms. T should be advised to report the incident to the city-level police investigation agency.
• The driver’s license that A gave to Ms. T as collateral for the loan scheme was then examined.
• Assisting Ms. A in completing procedures at the police investigation agency.

IV. Outcome of the case resolution

• The investigative police agency has initiated a criminal case and charged the suspect to investigate and clarify the acts of misappropriation of property and forgery of documents.