South Korean Man sentenced for Crypto Investment Scam
A 30-year-old South Korean man has been jailed for three years for defrauding a crypto investor of 2.93 billion won ($2.04 million). The Changwon District Court found him guilty under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
Known as Person A, the fraudster pretended to be a wealthy investment expert. He met his victim in an online chatroom and promised to guarantee the principal with annual returns of 30 to 50%.According to The Kookje Daily News, he received funds from the investor 324 times between December 2021 and August 2023.
Person A claimed the money would be used for cryptocurrency investments. However, he had no assets or job and had lost billions in previous crypto ventures. To gain trust,he returned some funds as “interest,” mimicking a Ponzi scheme.
The court noted that while some money was returned, the damage was not fully recovered. Judge Kim Seong-hwan stated that actual profits were much less then the total defrauded amount. The victim is unlikely to recieve full restitution.
- Person A posed as a wealthy investment expert.
- He promised high returns to lure the victim.
- Some funds were returned as “interest.”
- The victim is unlikely to recover the full amount.
