Couple Sentenced for $11 Billion Fraud Using Fake Land Deeds, Notary Fails to Detect Forgery

Ho Chi Minh City People's Court has sentenced a couple to a total of 31 years in prison for defrauding over 11 billion VND (approximately $450,000 USD) using forged land use rights certificates (so do). Nguyen Thi Thom (born 1989) received 15 years for fraud and 4 years for using forged official documents, totaling 19 years. Her husband, Do Xuan Linh (born 1987), was sentenced to 12 years for fraud. The case revealed that the couple resorted to forging land certificates due to business failures and mounting debts. In January 2025, Thom contacted an individual via social media to create six forged 'so do' certificates in her and her husband's names. They subsequently defrauded three acquaintances of a total of 11.2 billion VND. Notably, during the fraudulent transactions, the couple visited the N.T.T Notary Office in Ho Chi Minh City with buyers to sign property transfer contracts and change ownership. However, the notary public failed to detect the forged documents. Authorities determined that Notary N.T.N. had followed legal procedures and found no evidence of complicity, thus not pursuing criminal charges against her. To build trust, Thom even took victims to view properties listed on the forged certificates. Meanwhile, the remaining three forged certificates were used for debt settlements or to grant power of attorney, with one of these later being identified as fake by another notary office. This incident raises questions about the transparency of real estate transactions in Vietnam and the rigor of document verification within the notary system. Amidst economic growth under its one-party system, Vietnam faces challenges in law enforcement and institutional improvements to combat such illicit activities. Concurrently, while economic ties with China deepen, domestic legal frameworks and anti-fraud measures remain critical concerns.