Court Sentences Gang Involved in Investment Fraud for 'BTS Photo Shoot' to Prison

Sentenced to 3 Years and 6 Months in Prison

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] A group of individuals who committed investment fraud using the production of photo shoots for the globally popular group BTS as bait have been sentenced to prison.

The Jeju District Court's 2nd Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Jin Jae-kyung) announced on the 8th that Mr. A, who was indicted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud), was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison.

The court also sentenced three others, Mr. B, Mr. C, and Mr. D, who were indicted for violating the Act on the Regulation of Similar Credit Transactions, to prison terms ranging from 6 months to 1 year, and among them, Mr. C and Mr. D received suspended sentences.

The court stated the reasoning for the sentencing, saying, "The defendants conspired to commit crimes involving more than 10 billion won. Considering that many of the victims were economically or financially vulnerable individuals, the sentence was determined accordingly."

Mr. A, the CEO of an investment company based in Jeju, was found to have deceived victims by promising not only to guarantee the principal if they invested in the BTS photo shoot production project but also to pay 30% returns every three months.

From May 2018 to January 2020, Mr. A and his accomplices reportedly received approximately 10.9 billion won from 72 victims through this scheme and embezzled the funds.

However, it was confirmed that Mr. A never actually produced or invested in the BTS photo shoot project from the beginning.

Mr. A used the invested money to pay salaries for himself and his employees and to cover previous investments, and some of the funds were squandered by investing in high-risk stocks.

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