[Becoming an Insurance Insider] Insurance Fraud That Even the Devil Would Cry Over... "Cruel and Intelligent"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Insurance fraud is becoming increasingly brutal and sophisticated. The number of young people committing insurance fraud for entertainment expenses is also rising. There are calls for stricter punishment of insurance fraudsters.

A couple in their 40s who were prosecuted for committing horrific crimes such as slashing their young child's body with a weapon to claim insurance money were sentenced to prison in the first trial.

The Jeonju District Court recently held a final hearing for the appeal trial of A (41) and B (40, female), who were indicted on charges including special injury and violation of the Special Act on Insurance Fraud.

They were charged with taking out more than 30 insurance policies from 2016 to 2019 with themselves and their children as insured persons, then inflicting wounds on themselves or injuring their minor children with weapons, claiming a total of 67.33 million won in insurance money over 61 occasions.

The couple, who had no steady jobs, took out multiple insurance policies and began their crimes in 2018, two years later.

On November 20, 2019, B told C (then 16 years old), "Since you did something wrong, do not go to school," while holding C, and A slashed C's shin about three times with a weapon. Afterwards, they claimed insurance money on the grounds that "C was injured after failing to notice broken glass while throwing away trash and sorting recyclables at a garbage dump."

Starting from this incident, they injured C eight times until July last year and claimed 11.39 million won in insurance money.

However, in the first trial, A and others denied all charges, claiming "the child is lying."

The first trial court said, "The defendants injured their minor child with a weapon to gain financial benefits and continuously physically and emotionally abused their child. Nevertheless, the defendants do not reflect on their crimes but rather accuse the victim of lying and refuse to admit their wrongdoing," sentencing A to six years in prison and B to four years in prison.

The prosecution appealed, arguing that the original sentences were too light, requesting 10 years imprisonment for A and seven years for B. The appeal trial verdict will be announced on the 23rd.

A gang that deliberately caused accidents and squandered the insurance money on entertainment expenses was also caught.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency arrested four people, including D (male in his 20s), on the 9th on charges of defrauding over 500 million won in insurance money by deliberately causing traffic accidents, reporting accidents under others' names, and receiving treatment at hospitals (violation of the Special Act on Insurance Fraud Prevention). They also sent 64 accomplices, including E (male in his 20s), to the prosecution.

From November last year to September this year, they traveled nationwide to places such as Busan, Seoul, Gwangju, and Daegu, deliberately colliding with vehicles violating traffic laws, such as those changing lanes immediately after passing intersections, or intentionally hitting utility poles, then reporting to insurance companies and receiving outpatient treatment at Korean medicine clinics. They claimed a total of over 500 million won in insurance money through settlement fees and unrepaired repair costs.

As the number of accidents increased, they changed their vehicles every 1 to 2 months to avoid suspicion from insurance companies. They recruited passengers and false passengers (identity lenders) through SNS such as Facebook Messenger, submitted ID photos of false passengers to insurance companies after accidents, or provided personal information to fraudulently claim insurance money. They paid accomplices who lent their identities 100,000 to 300,000 won per case, according to the investigation.

The two main suspects who were arrested spent most of the defrauded insurance money on entertainment expenses, paying up to 10 million won for drinks at clubs (so-called 'Mansour set') and distributing premium champagne to other customers.

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