Posing as Insurance Agent, Man Defrauds Clients of Over 46 Million VND

Committed Two Separate Crimes: Fraud and Abuse of Trust

According to the case file, on November 19, 2019, Do The M., a collaborator at B Insurance Co., Ltd., was not authorized to provide consulting or collect premiums from client Nguyen Ngoc A. However, M. nonetheless posed as an authorized representative, issued the company’s official receipt, and collected over VND 16 million from Mr. A.

M. then forged documents, including a “request to change policy details” and a “policy reinstatement form,” submitting VND 4 million to the company while embezzling the remaining VND 12 million.

Later, from October 2020 to 2022, despite having been dismissed from the company, M. continued pretending to be an insurance agent. He approached Mr. A. again, collecting more than VND 46 million in supposed annual premium payments, which he spent for personal use.

The prosecution charged M. with both “Abuse of trust to appropriate property” (Article 175(1)(a) of the 2015 Penal Code) and “Fraudulent appropriation of property” (Article 174(1) of the same code).

During trial, the prosecutor proposed a 30–36 month prison term and required M. to compensate Mr. A. over VND 46 million and the company more than VND 12 million.

The Court’s Judgment

The panel determined that M. had deliberately falsified insurance documents to steal company funds, satisfying all elements of abuse of trust. Furthermore, his later acts of impersonating an insurance agent and defrauding Mr. A. met the criteria for fraudulent appropriation of property.

All witness statements, physical evidence, and investigative documents corroborated M.’s confession, confirming that the prosecution’s charges were legally grounded and correctly identified the crimes.

The court stressed that M.’s actions were socially dangerous, violating others’ property rights and undermining public trust in the insurance industry. Despite having legal knowledge, M. acted out of greed and showed disregard for the law.

He had already been serving a 12-year prison sentence imposed by the People’s Court of Tay Ho District, Hanoi, for unrelated crimes committed later. Although the current case did not count as a prior conviction, it reflected his persistent disregard for the law.

Given that M. committed fraud multiple times, the court applied the aggravating factor under Article 52(1)(g) of the Penal Code. However, he was given some leniency for his truthful confession and remorse.

Final Ruling

The court sentenced M. to:

• 12 months’ imprisonment for abuse of trust to appropriate property;

• 24 months’ imprisonment for fraudulent appropriation of property.

The total combined sentence was 3 years in prison, which, when added to his previous 12-year sentence, resulted in a total of 15 years of imprisonment.

M. was also ordered to repay over VND 46 million to Mr. A. and more than VND 12 million to B Insurance Co., Ltd.