Photocopy shop owner arrested for making thousands of fake documents and seals to sell

Authorities in Nghe An Province, Vietnam, have arrested and charged Lê Văn Chiến, 53, with forging official documents and seals. Chiến, who owned a photocopy and printing business, allegedly produced thousands of fake documents, complete with fabricated seals from various organizations, and sold them to customers. The price for each forged document ranged from 1 to 1.5 million Vietnamese dong (approximately $40-$60 USD).

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After a period of verification and monitoring, the police agency determined that in recent times, the suspect Lê Văn Chiến had produced many documents, signatures, and fake seals of agencies and organizations.

According to information from the Investigation Security Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police, Chiến operated his illicit business by collecting images of document templates and using photo editing software to create fake seals and signatures. He then used color inkjet and thermal printers to produce the fraudulent documents. His business activities also included contracting for design and construction management, which may have provided a cover for his forgery operation.

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Seeing that many people needed documents, the suspect conceived the idea of taking on the job of forging documents and papers to profit.

During a search of Chiến's workplace and residence, police discovered and confiscated over 1,000 documents and seals suspected of being forgeries. They also seized four computer CPUs, two color printers, one heat press machine, and other related materials. At the police station, Chiến reportedly confessed that he was motivated by the demand for such documents and saw an opportunity for profit. He admitted to learning forgery techniques online and collecting seal and document samples from social media. He also stated that he would save samples from customer photocopies and printing jobs to facilitate future forgery requests.

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To carry out the criminal act, Lê Văn Chiến learned how to forge various types of documents, collected seal samples and documents on social media, and when customers came to photocopy or print certificates, Chiến saved samples to serve the forgery for customers with needs.