According to the Investigation Police Agency under the Hanoi Department of Public Security on June 17, the syndicate operated through a network of ghost companies, exploiting consumers' desire for free perks and lucrative investments.
Initial investigations reveal that the group targeted 493 victims through deceptive sales transactions and transfer deposits. The suspects established shell companies and lured victims to seminars by offering free 4-star hotel travel vouchers, explicitly promising that no purchases or cash were required.
Once victims arrived, customer service representatives aggressively pitched travel timeshare packages priced between VND200 million and VND900 million with contract terms spanning 5 to 40 years.
To pressure clients into signing contracts and making immediate down payments, consultants offered fabricated discounts and falsely guaranteed high returns upon resale.
Police determined that these commitments were never documented in any contractual agreements, and no customer had ever been able to transfer a contract as promised. After receiving customers’ money, the company’s executives and employees allegedly used various excuses to avoid fulfilling their obligations.
In a secondary wave of exploitation, the syndicate established new brokerage firms using aliases and untraceable SIM cards. They targeted previous victims who were desperate to offload their non-existent timeshares.
The fraudsters manipulated victims with astronomical profit projections. For instance, to exploit victims’ greed, the group promised extraordinary returns, claiming that a contract worth VND200 million could generate payouts of VND1 billion, VND2.8 billion, or even as much as VND10 billion if entrusted to them for transfer. To receive these payments, customers were required to pay additional fees, including security deposits, service upgrade charges, or the purchase of another vacation ownership contract.
While sales reps verbally promised transactions would conclude within 1 to 1.5 months, the fine print in the brokerage contracts secretly stipulated a 10-year duration. This clause was intentionally inserted to block victims from canceling contracts or seeking compensation.
Authorities determined that none of the extorted funds were used for legitimate real estate or timeshare transactions. Instead, the money was funneled into:
- Sales commissions ranging from 2 percent to 12 percent,
- Staff salaries,
- Personal spending by the ringleaders.
During emergency raids of the suspects' residences and offices, Hanoi Police seized more than VND16.6 billion in cash and froze nearly VND59.8 billion across various bank accounts. Additionally, law enforcement impounded 7 automobiles, 10 land use rights certificates, and three savings books valued at VND12 billion.
The Investigative Police Agency is currently finalizing case files, pursuing further indictments against remaining accomplices, and prioritizing asset recovery to compensate the victims.
