Man gets life sentence for making $35,000 in counterfeit banknotes

Tran Van Mien, 36, received the sentence for "making, storing, and circulating counterfeit money."

For the same charge, Nguyen Nhu Phu, 53, received a 20-year prison sentence; Nguyen Thi Cam Duyen, 36, received 18 years; Huynh Thi Thuy Hang, 38, and Doan Van Duong, 35, each received 14 years; Huynh Hoai Thuong, 19, got 12 years; and Ho Van Tien, 36, was sentenced to seven years.

According to the indictment, Mien and his girlfriend Duyen lived together in a rented house in Ho Chi Minh City.

Phu lived with them to help with housework. Due to a lack of money for personal expenses, Mien came up with the idea of counterfeiting money.

Duyen and Phu were well aware of how Mien was counterfeiting money and assisted him by transporting machinery and cleaning up waste products.

Tran Van Mien (2nd, R) and Nguyen Thi Cam Duyen (R) stand trial in Da Nang City, May 7, 2024. Photo by Trang Chi

After producing about VND200 million of fake money and distributing it in several southern provinces and cities, Mien hired Thuong to join the operation in September 2022.

Mien used a computer to print the counterfeit money templates on A4 paper, with each sheet containing four images of the VND500,000 bill, and then gave them to Phu and Thuong to punch holes and laminate the bills in plastic.

The group then completed the bills by placing them in a cutting mold, polishing them, and stamping the denomination onto the transparent plastic section of the counterfeit bill.

Tools used by Mien's group to make counterfeit banknotes. Photo by police

Each week, Mien's group produced about 200-300 bills of the VND500,000 denomination.

Mien advertised the counterfeit money on Facebook and sold 172 bills to Duong.

Duong then asked Tien to distribute the money in Da Nang and the city’s neighbor Quang Nam Province.

The two were arrested by Da Nang police on Dec. 5, 2022, while using counterfeit money to buy an iPhone. The investigation then led to Mien.

Police said Mien’s group produced a total 1,800 bills of VND500,000 denomination.