Unexpected developments in the case of an English center "hugging" billions of dollars and then disappearing

(Dan Tri) - Some parents in the case of the Australian International Education Center (AIES) suddenly closing down unexpectedly received a notice of refund. However, they are concerned because the amount of money is unclear.

Mr. PT, a parent whose child studies at the Australian English Center 1 (Kha Van Can Street, HCMC) said that on July 13, he received a tuition refund after a long time of not being able to contact the center.

According to Mr. P., a Zalo account named "Anh Ngu Uc Chau" contacted him, asking him to provide his account number for a refund. Afterwards, a sum of money was transferred to the account with the content "Uc Chau TD hoan phi HV (recipient's name)".

Some parents were refunded but the notice was unclear (Photo: PHCC).

After receiving the money, you are required to sign a receipt form called "Refund Receipt" to confirm receipt of the money.

“I was both happy and a bit worried when the receipt stated general information about receiving a refund from Australia but did not specify whether it was an English center or anything else. There was also no stamp or confirmation from the center,” said this parent.

Mr. P. added that the caller provided the correct address and information about his child's full name, date of birth, course, classroom, homeroom teacher, payment date, etc.

Similarly, Mr. D.VH, another parent, also confirmed that he had encountered a similar situation. The amount of money that parents were refunded ranged from 7,500,000 to 9,500,000 VND.

According to a quick note, currently few parents have received refunds, some have received phone calls asking for information and refund amount, but most have not received any notification.

Among those contacted by the so-called Australian English service, some accepted to provide refund information, but many were more cautious.

A parent expressed: “I filed a complaint with the police as soon as the Center closed. If there was a move to refund, the Australian Center must clearly announce it, invite parents to check the remaining sessions, negotiate, agree on the compensation value and commitments from both parties. This is an unclear way of paying, so I am quite skeptical.”

The refund receipt is not clearly stated, making parents worry that they will continue to be scammed (Photo: PHCC).

Many parents are concerned that providing their account number to strangers could lead to the risk of being scammed again, especially if they sign an unclear confirmation.

These parents said they hope the authorities will soon investigate and clarify the information, to avoid parents who have lost money being scammed again.

According to a source from the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, the investor of the Australian English Center is still in Vietnam and has not fled abroad as previously reported. This person has also come to work with the authorities.

As Dan Tri reported, in May, hundreds of parents of the Australian Language Center were confused when they could not contact the director and both facilities were closed. Many people said that the center announced that it would temporarily close from May 8-14 for repairs after a heavy rain but then did not reopen.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/dien-bien-bat-ngo-vu-trung-tam-tieng-anh-om-tien-ty-roi-bien-mat-20250714065656925.htm