Vietnam media outlet Vnexpress reported on September 5th that 43-year-old Nguyen Thi Phương Thảo from Tho Tac Province in Vietnam hired someone to pretend to be the bride and her mother, and rented a house to act as the ‘bride’’s family, in order to swindle a Chinese man out of 280 million Vietnamese dong (approximately 730,000 yuan) in dowry.
On September 4th, the First District People's Court of Tongha Province sentenced Fang Cao to 9 years and 6 months in prison for the crime of fraud and misappropriation of property.
In the case of co-offenders, their husbands, Huang Yingwu (40 years old), and Shi Zhong, Ruan Yucao (19 years old) and Ruan Huangying (44 years old), were sentenced to terms ranging from 7 to 8 years in prison.
According to the indictment, Fang Cao worked in the company and spoke Chinese. Through an introduction, she learned that 38-year-old Chinese man Hao Liu Peng wanted to marry a woman in Vietnam, and thus she decided to swindle money from him.
She used the alias “Xuan” and claimed to be an matchmaker when contacting the other party.
At first, she introduced a 18-year-old woman as the husband’s biological daughter. Mr. Hao did not agree to this. Fangcao then contacted an acquaintance named Shi Zhong and asked him to find someone to pretend to be the bride.
Shi Zhong introduced his niece, Ruan Yucao. The latter agreed to receive a compensation of 500 million dongs after the event, and she agreed to participate. Fang Cao also asked Ruan Shi Huangying to pretend to be the mother of the bride, and promised to pay her money after the matter was completed.
The gang rented a residence in Xinhe Society and Pingyi, equipped as a ‘bride’s home, for 500,000 dongs.
Trial site, Vietnamese media "VNexpress"
On April 7, 2025, a group of people rented cars to meet Mr. Hao in Ho Chi Minh City. On the way, Ruan Yucao was required to use a pseudonym “Furong” and claim to be 25 years old.
In a convenience store in District 8 of Ho Chi Minh City, after meeting the 'family of the woman', Mr. Hao agreed to get married.
Three days later, he went to the house in Xinhe Society to ‘meet the parents’. Fang Cao said that the woman’s family had agreed to the marriage, and asked the man to pay 70 million dongs. After receiving the money, the ‘matchmaker’ also prepared a agreement for both parties to sign, in order to gain trust.
The next morning, the gang sent Mr. Hao back to Ho Chi Minh City. Fang Cao pretended to take the bride to handle personal documents and prepare for the wedding procedures.
Two days later, Fangcao and Mr. Hao returned to Yuexin Industrial Zone. She asked him to pay another 17.5 million dongs before going to the airport to return to China.
On April 16th, Fang Cao requested another 17.5 million dongs. Mr. Hao was in China at that time, so he entrusted a familiar person in Vietnam to make the transfer.
Four days later, the gang went to the airport to pick up Mr. and Mrs. Hao, and they were taken to Old American City for the wedding preparations.
On the way, Fang Cao asked Mr. Hao to give an additional 1.75 billion dongs, plus two mobile phones as gifts for the woman's family.
After arriving in America, Fang Cao and the "bride" took Mr. Hao and his father to get a haircut. While the two were not paying attention, they got on the car and left, locking their cards and turning off their phones.
The indictment states that the total amount of money defrauded amounted to 280 million dongs. Fang Cao gave Ruan Yucao 2 million dongs and a mobile phone, Huang Ying 4 million dongs, Shi Zhong 4 million dongs, along with an additional 500,000 dongs for rent. The remaining money was squandered by the Fang Cao couple.
Mr. Hao and his father waited for a long time but no woman came to pick them up. Suspecting that they had been deceived, they reported the case to the public security authorities.
On November 4, 2025, the gang was arrested by the police.
