ONUS cryptocurrency scam: Hiring KOLs to influence and attract investors

Economic Security Police (A09) has released numerous details showing the sophisticated methods used by Vuong Le Vinh Nhan (Eric Vuong) to operate the ONUS crypto ecosystem, thereby mobilizing huge funds from investors. In a press conference held by the Ministry of Public Security on 3/4, Lieutenant Colonel Pham Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Economic Security Police Department, stated that as of 23/3/2026, the Investigation Police Agency under the Ministry of Public Security had indicted Vuong Le Vinh Nhan (Eric Vuong, born 1984 in Can Tho) and eight accomplices on two charges: “using computer networks and telecommunications to commit asset appropriation” and “money laundering.” Initial investigations show that Eric Vuong and his accomplices operated the ONUS crypto ecosystem to raise billions of USD and misappropriate tens of trillions of VND from investors. Regarding the suspects’ methods, he noted that in 2018, Eric Vuong and Tran Quang Chien (in Hanoi) along with others created the VNDC cryptocurrency and the VNDC Wallet exchange; by October 2021, VNDC Wallet was renamed ONUS. They subsequently employed highly sophisticated tactics, disseminated misinformation to build investor trust, and used deceit to appropriate investor funds. Specifically, VNDC was promoted as collateralized by assets deposited in major Vietnamese banks at a 1:1 ratio, but in reality the number of VNDC issued was not backed by collateral to ensure liquidity. Second, they organized signing ceremonies and media campaigns for VNDC investment into the SnackHouse bread-store chain to expand nationwide: 30 outlets in Can Tho, 200 outlets in the Mekong region, and 1,000 nationwide bread outlets. Consumers could use VNDC vouchers to redeem bread at all Snack House branches, but in reality none existed. Third, VNDC partnered with Trustpay JSC and Go24 ATS JSC to launch the e-commerce platform “VNDC Supermarket”—a consumer and shopping channel for VNDC users—but this platform did not exist. In addition, they hired KOLs (influencers with significant reach in technology) to recruit agents and networks to guide, lead, inspire, and recruit, promoting to attract many investors. Fourth, they announced VNDC and the VNDC Wallet exchange (later ONUS) issued by VNDC Holding and Onus Technology in Singapore. But in fact these companies were founded by Vuong Le Vinh Nhan and Tran Quang Chien. Expanding the scale and repeating the fraud model: after attracting many investors, Vuong Le Vinh Nhan and Tran Quang Chien collaborated to create multiple other crypto coins such as LABUBU, HNG, and BDS, using bots to create fake buy/sell orders to manipulate prices as they desired. After a period of operation, the manipulation caused losses to investors, they stopped creating buy orders and media outreach to let the coins revert to their true nature and lose value, then issued new token projects and repeated the process. The ONUS ecosystem was identified as exceptionally large: listing nearly 600 crypto projects; about 5.5 million accounts; trading volume in the billions of USD. To operate, they established 52 companies domestically and abroad and a single investment fund, functioning under independent corporate entities but effectively under one management to conceal money flows and legitimate fundraising. On 20–21/3, authorities conducted searches at dozens of locations across many provinces, summoning more than 140 people involved. According to investigators, this is a very large ecosystem with an exceptionally large scale, and steps are being taken to uncover and prosecute the individuals in accordance with the law.