Over 80 people have been summoned for questioning about a pyramid scheme that specifically targeted poor people in Thanh Hoa Province.
An office of the Centre to Support the Poor in Developing New Rural Areas
People claiming to be employees from the Centre to Support the Poor in Developing New Rural Areas have visited local people to promote a Vietnamese Heart Programme.
According to Hach Van Thang, party secretary of Thieu Thanh Commune, the centre promised to give them 300 litres of fertilizer, a VND52m (USD2,300) house and 10 saving accounts worth VND5.2m per person. But at the ceremony, they only gave 300 litres of fertilizer. The house and saving accounts were only on paper.
One employee then asked the poor households to invest in their Vietnamese Heart Programme, saying that for a VND1.2m membership the participants could make VND5,250,000 after the programme concluded. The centre was also happy to offer a VND500,000 discount for every person the member recruited.
Even though communal authorities warned the people and asked police to investigate the centre, many poor or near-poor households sold their buffaloes or borrowed money to participate. Initial investigation showed that at least 46 households had paid a total of VND194m to join the Vietnamese Heart Programme.
Colonel Le Trung Hieu from Thanh Hoa Police Department said the Centre to Support the Poor in Developing New Rural Areas had not been approved or given permission by the authorities. They set up offices and recruited employees in May before asking for co-operation from Thanh Hoa Province authorities to support their Vietnamese Heart Programme in August.
The investigation is continuing.