‘You are, at the end of the day, a con man': Facebook fraudster jailed
A con man who posed as a tradie on social media and swindled almost $500,000 from victims has been jailed.
Hong Thanh Dang Tran pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court to 30 fraud charges on Wednesday.
Dang Tran, 45, defrauded people between April 2022 and November 2023 after offering building and renovation services via Facebook, prosecutors told the court.
He used different names and phone numbers, on some occasions even using business cards belonging to licensed builders, the court was told.
The Vietnamese-born Australian citizen received payments from 30 people and either did not complete promised work or begin it entirely.
In some instances, Dang Tran introduced complainants to his family to build a rapport.
On other occasions he made 'vague' threats asking for further money when challenged by victims, prosecutors said.
Dang Tran received $452,000 from his victims and made some partial repayments just shy of $42,000.
He was arrested on November 17, 2023 and has been in custody since, appearing in court for Wednesday's sentencing.
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