Woman arrested for swindling $323,000 with false promises for US education

By Quoc Thang March 25, 2024 | 12:12 am PT

Nguyen Phuong Thanh at a police station in HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Nhat Vy

A woman in HCMC was accused of tricking a man out of VND8 billion ($323,082) after promising to help him study abroad.

Nguyen Phuong Thanh, 36, was arrested by HCMC police on Sunday for obtaining property by fraud. Several other people are also being investigated by the police for helping Thanh.

An investigation revealed that Thanh was acquainted with Ngoc, from Hanoi, several years prior. In 2017, Thanh approached Ngoc, saying she had connections with the U.S. Consulate and that she could help him to study abroad.

Ngoc's family then made two transfers in Vietnamese dong and U.S. dollar to Thanh, totaling to around $323,082, to cover costs. However, after a long time had passed and Ngoc still did not receive a visa for studying abroad, so he went to Thanh to ask what happened. Thanh gave different excuses to him before cutting off contact.

The police said Thanh did not have any connection with the U.S. Consulate and could not do procedures to allow anyone to study abroad as promised.

Thanh had used all the money that Ngoc’s family gave her for personal purposes. When the police requested her cooperation, Thanh showed signs of trying to run away.

*Victim’s name has been changed.