30s Arrested and Indicted for 'Mask Fraud Scheme' on Secondhand Trading Site

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Eun-gang) announced on the 28th that A (34) was arrested and indicted on charges of fraud for deceiving people into buying masks on a secondhand trading site and pocketing over 10 million won.

A is accused of approaching three victims who posted on an online secondhand trading site between the 2nd and 14th of last month, claiming to purchase masks, and embezzling a total of 16.96 million won. A also approached victims by pretending to have masks after seeing a post on the site stating, "I am the village youth president, and I am looking for masks to distribute to the village elders," and defrauded 7 million won.

A is known to have intended to use the embezzled money for gambling funds.

The police transferred A to the prosecution earlier this month without detention. Subsequently, the prosecution deemed the case serious and detained A on the 24th.

The prosecution stated, "This crime exploited the difficulty of purchasing masks, causing not only financial damage but also national and social unrest," and added, "We will respond strictly to crimes related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.