Defendant Nguyễn Thúc Thùy Tiên, Miss Grand International 2021, at the court. — VNA/VNS Photo Linh Sơn

HCM CITY — A high-profile cast of business figures and influencers faced the HCM City People’s Court on Wednesday in a sweeping customer fraud case linked to the Chị Em Rọt Group Joint Stock Company (CER) and the Asian Life Joint Stock Company.

The hearing drew more than 20 individuals and organisations with related interests as the court examined allegations that a bestselling dietary supplement was promoted with misleading claims and dubious production practices.

The five defendants include Nguyễn Thúc Thùy Tiên, 27, Miss Grand International 2021; Phạm Quang Linh, 27, often called Quang Linh Vlogs, member of the Board of Directors of the CER; Nguyễn Thị Thái Hằng, 30, often called Hằng Du Mục, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the CER; Lê Thành Công, 36, member of the Board of Directors; and Lê Tuấn Linh, 36, Director of the CER.

They were charged with customer fraud under Point d, Clause 2, Article 198 of the Penal Code.

According to the indictment, the CER's main business includes film production, cinema, video, television programme production and trading food products.

The Asia Life Joint Stock Company's main business involves manufacturing, trading food products and health supplements.

Investigations determined that the dietary supplement SuperGreens Gummies (Kera candy) is a product registered under CER's trademark, declared on the product self-declaration dated December 17 2024, manufactured by the Asia Life under a subcontract for processing and packaging.

CER Group, as the product owner and direct seller, is responsible for food safety, standards, quality and effectiveness as per the self-declaration dossier and product promotion.

During Asia Life's production of Kera candy, Lê Tuấn Linh, Lê Thành Công, Nguyễn Thị Thái Hằng, Phạm Quang Linh and Nguyễn Thúc Thùy Tiên failed to check and supervise product quality.

They were aware that the fibre content per candy was very low at only 0.935 per cent, insufficient to supplement fibre for picky vegetable eaters. They knew Asia Life did not have Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) standard raw material sources, were unaware of the origin and components of the materials used and had no scientific evidence or basis for the claim one candy equals one plate of vegetables, yet they issued the product self-declaration including 10 types of vegetable and fruit powders totalling 28.13 per cent.

Additionally, these defendants agreed to script and shoot videos of raw material areas rented by Asia Life to promote the Kera candy on social media platforms with false information about ingredient origins, production technology, fibre content and product effects.

From December 12 last year to March 14 this year, as many as 56,385 customers purchased a total of 129,617 boxes, generating over VNĐ17.5 billion (US$663,400) in revenue, with illicit profits exceeding VNĐ12.4 billion ($470,000).

The indictment stated that as chairwoman and shareholder of CER Group and as key opinion leaders (KOLs), Hằng, Quang Linh and Tiên worked directly with Tuấn Linh and Công to produce scripts and disseminate false information about raw materials, product features and benefits of Kera candy on social networks for illegal profits.

Among them, Hằng, Quang Linh and Tiên posted videos on their personal Tiktok channels. Hằng participated in five live broadcasts, Quang Linh in six, and Tiên in three live broadcasts.

During the investigations, all accused sincerely confessed their crimes. Their statements coincided with developments and evidence collected by the police. — VNS