"I am a Chanel Designer" Blogger Who Sold Cheap Yarn as Luxury Goods Receives Suspended Sentence in First Trial

184 Victims, Approximately 400 Million KRW in Damages
Court: "False Promotion to Numerous Unspecified People Over Long Period"
"Settlement Reached with Multiple Victims"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] A blogger accused of selling ordinary yarn instead of luxury yarn used in high-end clothing to knitting enthusiasts while claiming to be a designer for luxury brands was sentenced to probation in the first trial.

On the 22nd, Kim Woo-jung, Chief Judge of Criminal Division 8 at the Seoul Western District Court, announced that on the 13th, he sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of fraud and violation of the Act on the Prevention of Unfair Competition and Protection of Trade Secrets, to 1 year and 6 months in prison with 3 years of probation.

Mr. A is accused of impersonating a freelance designer who participated in the inspection and design of Chanel and Prada from August 2015 to November 2020, deceiving and selling consa (large spools of yarn used for knitting and textile weaving) Rossbuns used by luxury brands, claiming he could import and distribute them, and defrauding 178 victims of over 400 million KRW. The luxury brands Mr. A mentioned to knitting enthusiasts included Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, and Maison Margiela.

According to the court, Mr. A promoted and sold the yarn as “high-quality yarn produced in France and supplied to luxury brands, with a blend ratio of 70% cotton and 30% modal.” However, in reality, the yarn was not supplied to luxury brands, was purchased from Dongdaemun shopping district, was not produced in France, and was a low-quality product with incorrectly labeled blend ratios.

Additionally, during the same period, Mr. A is also accused of deceiving victims by selling low-priced products purchased from Dongdaemun shopping district as high-end consa made only of expensive materials such as wool and silk, selling them 35 times and defrauding 6 victims of about 3.5 million KRW.

The court stated, “The defendant committed the crime over a long period targeting an unspecified large number of people by falsely promoting his career and the quality of consa products, making the nature of the crime serious,” and pointed out, “Despite having a prior record of probation for computer-related fraud in 2004, he committed the crime again.”

However, the court explained the sentencing reasons, saying, “The defendant admitted to the crime and showed remorse, paid 250 million KRW to 173 victims and reached settlements so that they do not want the defendant to be punished,” and “The remaining 11 victims were refunded more than the defrauded amount, restoring their damages.”

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