The winner of a Vietnamese beauty pageant organized in Moscow some years ago has been detained for allegedly conning a businessman out of almost US$750,000.
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Police in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday apprehended Truong Ho Phuong Nga, 28, for swindling.
Nga was crowned at a pageant held for Vietnamese beauties in Moscow in 2007.
According to police officers, during her stay in Ho Chi Minh City, she got to know H., a businessman who lives in District 7.
Nga talked H. into giving her VND5.6 billion ($260,975) to purchase a house in District 5 at a cheaper price than those offered on the local market by taking advantage of her wide business circles.
After a while, the beauty told H. that the transaction did not proceed as expected.
However, Nga managed to persuade H. that she would continue to look for another house at a cheap price.
H. continued to buy into the beauty’s words and repeatedly gave her more money, which totaled over VND16 billion ($745,643.)
Last year, seeing that Nga could not buy him a house, H. reported the issue to police.
The local police launched their investigation into Nga in mid-March 2015, before placing her in custody yesterday.
At 11, Nga moved with her family to Russia, where she grew up and enrolled in a university in Moscow, media reports said.
Ten years later, she returned home and embarked on an artistic career as a model and actress.
She has starred in several films and music videos shot in Vietnam.
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