On July 23, the Criminal Police Division (PC02) of the Ho Chi Minh City Police said it was expanding an investigation into a fraud case allegedly carried out by a group of foreign nationals in the city.

The Ho Chi Minh City Police Investigation Agency has launched criminal proceedings, charged and placed six suspects in pre-trial detention for alleged “fraudulent appropriation of property.”

They were identified as Del Rosario Rafael Macapanas, born in 1986 and accused of leading the group; Pardo Oscar Winkler, born in 1950; De Vera Diosdado, born in 1960; Pardo Maria Lanie, born in 1975; Villarin Bregida, born in 1967; and Bernardino Rolando Lim, born in 1975. All six are Philippine nationals.

Earlier, while monitoring the area, officers from Team 5 of PC02, working with Ben Thanh Ward police, noticed a group of foreigners displaying suspicious behavior and began conducting checks and gathering evidence.

According to preliminary investigation findings, the group targeted foreign tourists traveling alone, particularly older visitors.

After approaching the tourists, striking up conversations and gaining their trust, the suspects allegedly persuaded the victims to accompany them to apartments they had rented in advance.

There, the group would invite the victim to join a card game. Accomplices posing as wealthy players would also take part.

Investigators said alleged ringleader Del Rosario Rafael Macapanas would deal the cards himself, deliberately arranging for the victim to win repeatedly at first to lure them deeper into the game.

An accomplice playing the role of the losing gambler would then pretend to become frustrated and insist on continuing in an attempt to win the money back. The suspects allegedly produced imitation US dollar notes resembling banknotes used as ceremonial paper offerings to create the appearance that large sums of money were at stake.

To move on to a higher-stakes game, the suspects would allegedly demand that the victim join them in “proving their financial capacity” by going to a bank or ATM, withdrawing cash and bringing it back to the apartment.

Once the victim returned with the money, the suspects allegedly waited for a moment of distraction or deliberately created one, then quickly switched or took the cash before fleeing.

At the police station, Del Rosario Rafael Macapanas admitted to managing the operation, assigning roles and distributing the money obtained from the alleged scams, according to investigators.

Preliminary findings indicate that from May 2025 until their arrests, the group successfully carried out 18 alleged scams and obtained around US$10,000 from multiple international tourists.

Dam De