Five arrested for scamming man with $208M fake meteorite

By Ngoc Tai December 6, 2022 | 04:42 pm PT

Nguyen Trung Hieu (L) and Le Van Chi, two of five people arrested in An Giang Province for a meteorite fraud. Photo by VnExpress/Tien Tam

Five people in southern An Giang Province were arrested Tuesday after tricking a person into selling a fake meteorite for them for VND5 trillion ($208.3 million).

Nguyen Trung Hieu, 41, Tran Van Nghia, 60, and Le Vang Tung, Le Van Chi and Au Thi Xuan, all 56, were detained by the police of An Giang to be investigated for obtaining property by fraud.

The five allegedly spread the information that a black, solid, egg-shaped object in their possession was a meteorite capable of "destroying iron", along with other special properties.

A black, solid, egg-shaped object that five people in An Giang said was a $208 million meteorite. Photo by VnExpress/Tien Tam

They approached a local man and told him that the "meteorite" cost around VND5-6 trillion and they would give him 0.1% commission if he could sell it for them.

The man then paid them VND500 million as collateral before receiving the "meteorite". He then realized he was duped and reported the matter to authorities.

An investigation is ongoing.