HotNews No. 122: Over 9,000 Investors Scammed – Ponzi Scheme Ame Global Dismantled in Vietnam
Another major scam in the field of multi-level marketing (MLM) has been uncovered this week – Vietnamese authorities officially announced the dismantling of the Ponzi scheme Ame Global, which involved over 9,000 investors.
Details of the scam:
Ame Global presented itself as a legitimate company headquartered in Taiwan, connected with the firm Win All Trading Co., LTD. Under these names, the fraudsters opened an office in Vietnam and spread their scheme throughout the country and beyond its borders.
According to a report by Vietnam Net Global dated May 23, police in Lang Son province arrested 12 suspects and seized a significant amount of equipment, documents, mobile phones, and suspicious substances related to the scheme. The network’s organizer is Huang Wen Yen, a Taiwanese national currently on the run. The scheme involved Chinese and Vietnamese-Chinese nationals, indicating the transnational nature of this criminal organization.
How the scheme worked:
The scheme was classic:
✔ You invest around 550 USD and receive a box containing so-called Nguu Chuong Chi mushrooms.
✔ You enter a binary structure with 20 levels.
✔ They promise you a 10% global daily bonus, even if you don’t recruit anyone.
✔ Earnings were capped at 1,000 USD per day – you “earn” as long as money from new investors keeps flowing.
Between April 2024 and May 2025, over 9,000 people were recruited into the network.
Names of suspects:
The arrested are mainly from the Ho Chi Minh area, including Ngo Huu Thap, Lang Thi Thuy Dung, Luu Quoc Ngoc, Tran Chan Quyen, Dam Vi Thinh, Tu Boi Dieu, Pham Tuan Phong, Tong Thi Hong Tham, Kim Vinh Hao, Dam Dieu Phat, Dong Thi Minh Thang, and Nguyen Dang Bac.
Seized assets include one car, six computers, 14 mobile phones, two iPads, 85 cartons containing nearly 15,000 empty supplement boxes, over 2,000 bottles of Nguu Chuong Chi with unidentified origin, more than 35,000 product labels, and numerous machines and documents used in production.
Why this matters:
Ame Global is not an isolated case but part of a broader trend in Vietnam, where MLM scams have long operated with little consequence. However, following this case and arrests related to the Bitney scheme, it seems authorities have finally started to take action.
This is good news for future victims – increased oversight and public arrests send a message that such scams will no longer be tolerated. More frequent interventions may also encourage other countries in the region to follow suit.
Be cautious:
If someone promises you a 10% daily return, without effort and without a logical explanation of how the money is generated – it is almost certainly a scam.
Your DefendMe team