Two Nigerians have been sentenced to 16 and 12 years in prison for swindling more than $130,000 from Vietnamese women they befriended online.
In the judgment delivered on Monday, Ihugba Augustine Chinonso, 32, was sentenced to 16 years in prison while Onu Chinonso Peter, 33, got 12 years for “appropriating property through swindling.”
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court has also sentenced six of their Vietnamese accomplices to between eight and 20 years in jail on the same charges and for “forging seals and documents of agencies or organizations.”
In addition to the jail sentences, the defendants were required to return all the swindled money to their victims. The Nigerian men set up fake accounts on social networks, befriended Vietnamese women and promised to send them cash and expensive gifts.
Their Vietnamese accomplices then pretended to be employees from delivery companies, customs officers or police officers and demanded that the women transfer delivery fees, customs fees or fines to their bank accounts.
After each successful scam, the Vietnamese accomplices got to keep 15-25% of the money, while the rest was sent to Chinonso. The gang was busted after one of their victims, Chau, reported her case to the police in February 2016.
