HCMC siblings fake death of relatives abroad to steal $3M inheritance home

By Quoc Thang, Bao Tran April 5, 2024 | 05:48 pm PT

Vo Doan Tuan, Vo Doan My Thanh and Vo Doan My Phuoc at a HCMC police station, April 5, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Tran

Three siblings in HCMC have been accused of stealing an inherited home worth VND80 billion ($3.2 million) from eight relatives abroad who were also entitled to parts of the inheritance.

The allegations have gone as far as to say the trio even tried to fake death certificates as part of their failed plan.

Vo Doan Tan, 65, Vo Doan My Thanh, 61, and Vo Doan My Phuoc, 59 were arrested by Binh Thanh District police on Friday for bribery and obtaining property by fraud.

Related to the case, 41-year-old lawyer Le Minh Thai and his employee, 31-year-old Nguyen Duc Hai, were also arrested for obtaining property by fraud and giving bribes. Nguyen Dac Cong, an employee of the Ward 6 People’s Committee in Binh Thanh District, was arrested for commission of fraud in performance of duties.

Tan, My and Thanh were three among 11 inheritors of a house on Bach Dang Street, which was valued at around VND80 billion. The three siblings live in Vietnam, while the rest of their relatives live abroad.

In 2016, Tan plotted with his two sisters to claim the house for themselves. They paid Thai $50,000 to create fake paperwork stating that the relatives abroad had forfeited their rights to the property.

To legitimize the documents, Thai and Hai forged papers saying that the eight inheritors abroad refused to receive their inheritance, which also included the forgery of their signatures. Thai bribed Cong to approve the papers.

Cong accepted the bribe and forged the signatures of ward authorities to complete the forged documents. Tan and his two sisters, after claiming the house for themselves, sold it for VND80 billion and divided the money among themselves.

In July 2017, the Binh Thanh District People’s Committee found signs of violations, and so invited the police to step in. The police then told Tan’s siblings that the documents renouncing the inheritance were fake, nulling their claims to sole inheritance. Authorities then determined that because the siblings did not plan to return the money and were spreading false information and even going as far as to ask the court to confirm the death of the other eight inheritors to legitimize their illegal sale of the house.

Thai and Hai were accused of forging papers to help Tan and his siblings steal the house, as well as giving bribes worth VND6 million to Cong.

An investigation is ongoing.