- The 2nd Criminal Division of the Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam Province sentenced a man to 3 years in prison for fraud.
- The crypto scam involved embezzling approximately 2.93 billion won (around $2.04 million).
- Court cited the use of a “round-robin” scheme and noted that only partial restitution was made, justifying the custodial sentence.
The war on crypto investors continues as few individuals were recently caught in a crypto scam web. A man in his 30s from South Korea has been convicted for 3 years by the 2nd Criminal Division of the Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam Province for defrauding a cryptocurrency investor out of 2.93 billion won, roughly equivalent to $2.04 million.
Convicted Fraudster Lures Crypto Victim With Promising High Returns
According to the latest report shared by Kookje, the 30-year-old South Korean referred to as “Mr. A” was brought to trial by the victim referred to as “Mr. B” on the allegations of fraud. Mr. A and Mr. B are said to have met in an open chatroom, where Mr. A pretended to be a wealthy investor. He lured the victim by promising an annual return of 30–50% along with the repayment of the principal.
During the court hearing, Mr. A is said to have collected 2.93 billion won, numbering up to 324 transactions dating back to December 21, 2021. Additional transfers of 5 million won from Mr. B were recorded between December and August 19, 2023.
However, in reality, Mr. A did not possess any assets or employment and was already suffering a loss worth millions of won from his previous crypto investments.
Mr. A was found to have built trust with Mr. B by repaying part of the funds he had received under the guise of interest, thereby encouraging a broader fraudulent scheme.
The ruling judge who presided over the case, Judge Kim Seong-hwan, noted that although the defendant returned a portion of the stolen amount, this did not make up for the full restitution due to the deceptive “round-robin” structure of the fraud.
The court also considered that the actual financial gain was remarkably lower than the total nominal amount listed in the indictment when determining the sentence.