'High-Profit Bait, 6 Billion Won Swallowed'... Entire 'Electronic Lottery Manipulation Scam Group' Arrested

Fraudulent Site Lures Victims and Steals Money Under the Pretext of Commission Fees

Execution Team Office [Provided by Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] A fraud organization that operated open chat rooms for investment leading in virtual assets and swindled tens of billions of won under the pretext of investment funds and fees by baiting high returns was caught by the police.

The Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency announced on the 8th, "We have arrested 15 members, including the ringleader A (25), on charges of violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Telecommunications Financial Fraud Damage and Refund of Damages."

From March last year to February this year, A and his group are suspected of receiving about 6 billion won from 171 victims by promising to lead investments in 'virtual asset margin trading (analyzing Ethereum transaction volumes to buy and sell coins)', 'gold investment through price differences', and 'electronic lottery betting' online.

According to the police investigation, A and others lured victims to messenger 1:1 chats and fraudulent websites, claiming that following their instructions for investment and betting would yield high returns, and then took the investment funds.

The suspects used overseas messenger chat rooms, prepared offices and tools for the crime, organized themselves into groups such as ringleaders and execution teams, shared specific criminal methods, and committed crimes as an organized crime group.

In particular, they manipulated fraudulent websites to display fake high profits on the screen, and when victims requested withdrawal of profits, they extorted cash under the pretext of fees by saying, "You must deposit 50% of the profits to be able to withdraw."

It was investigated that they lived a luxurious life, driving expensive imported cars such as Ferraris with the money they illicitly obtained.

The police started the investigation in September last year and arrested all members of the organization after about eight months of tracking.

The police tracked the suspects' hidden assets and secured part of the criminal proceeds by obtaining a court order for 'pre-indictment seizure preservation (about 534 million won)' on real estate, vehicles, and accounts.

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