How do you sell a tiny lump of tar for $32 million? Apparently you just tell buyers it's a meteorite blessed with space magic. Vietnamese outlet Thanh Nien is reporting an elaborate scam in Ho Chi Minh City that nearly lured an (apparently quite rich) man into buying a fake meteorite for millions. The con artists even planted faux customers to "get dizzy and talk nonsense" after touching the chunk of tar. The kicker? A weak current was fed into the rock via wires to shock the duped customer. Source
Police in Ho Chi Minh City say they have detained two men who tried to sell a fake meteorite for US$100 million. The suspects are Thai Van Tuan, director of Ngo Tran Precious Metal and Stones JSC in District 8, and Le Anh Nguyen, of Binh Thuan Province. Nguyen, 39, learned through acquaintances that Nguyen Huu Ban of Binh Phuoc Province was hunting for a meteorite to resell at a profit, according to investigators. He then contacted Ban, 52, to show him a fake, 4.3 kg sample he said was worth VND660 billion ($31.6 million). Read more