Changhua court sentences Vietnamese money mule to 8 years, 9 months

Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) A Vietnamese man who acted as a money mule for a fraud gang after overstaying his legal status in Taiwan has been sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison by the Changhua District Court.

According to the ruling issued Tuesday, the 32-year-old man, surnamed Phạm (範), entered Taiwan in 2019 as a migrant worker.

After working for about a year and a half, he was reported missing by his employer, leading to the revocation of his residence permit.

He later began working for a fraud ring, traveling to multiple ATMs at convenience stores and financial institutions in Lukang and Hemei townships, where he withdrew NT$870,309 (US$27,600) from 42 accounts that did not belong to him between April and June last year.

Police said Phạm was arrested in June last year in Lukang Township, where officers seized his mobile phone and a backpack after seeing him withdrawing cash at an ATM during a routine patrol.

The court said Phạm initially denied the charges and only admitted to acting as a courier after his detention was extended.

He later told authorities an unidentified individual had paid him to withdraw money.

According to the court, those operating the fraud group placed advertisements on social media and messaging platforms offering high returns or easy side jobs, including claims such as "paid access to unlock meetings," "exchange of explicit videos for a fee," and investment opportunities, to induce victims to transfer money into designated dummy accounts.

Phạm was convicted of aggravated fraud, as well as violations of the Immigration Act and the Money Laundering Control Act. The ruling can be appealed.