3 detained for scamming $7.9M through crypto fraud

Dang Quoc Thang, 39, Nguyen Thanh Loc, 28, and Ngo Khac Trung, 34, are being investigated for "using computer networks, telecommunications networks or electronic means to commit property appropriation," the Hanoi police said Thursday.

Thang, identified as the mastermind, founded Maxx Group to promote and market cryptocurrency projects.

Since 2022 they pocketed money primarily through two schemes: Wingstep and Game Naga Kingdom.

Wingstep required investors to download a running app from a website, buy BUSD cryptocurrency at $1 and deposit it in their accounts.

They would buy non-fungible token shoes from the developers priced at $100-1,200 a pair. They activated the app by walking or running to earn cryptocurrency rewards, which could be converted to BUSD.

Thang marketed Wingstep as a South Korean project promising high, long-term profits in addition to "5% of the investment for direct referrals and 3% for secondary referrals."

They said some 500 people invested $300,000 in Wingstep.

Dang Quoc Thang in a promoting event. Photo courtesy of the police

The project operated from May 2022 until August that year when investors found out they were no longer able to convert BUSD into dollars and had thus lost all their money.

In the Game Naga Kingdom project, investors had to buy non-fungible token game characters priced from tens of millions of dong to hundreds of millions.

They would then use these characters to play and earn "Maga" cryptocurrency points that could be converted into BUSD.

Thang promoted the game as "a blockchain-based game with non-fungible token issuance," promising 5-8% profits and 10% referral commissions.

The police said around 20 people had invested $60,000 in it. After just three months the game "collapsed" and the investors lost all their money.

During interrogations, the group admitted to using false claims of profitability to reel in investors and deliberately operating each scheme for a short period to maximize gains.

The police have urged victims to contact the Criminal Police Department for assistance. Thang personally pocketed 5-50% of the money raised through each project.

Trung, appointed by Thang as Maxx Group’s director and legal representative, was responsible for promoting them and luring investments.