40s Man Arrested for 1.5 Billion KRW Worth of Goods Fraud in Online Cafe

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] A man in his 40s who deceived small business owners by promising to supply imported cosmetics and other products through an online cafe, took payments, and then disappeared has been apprehended.

On the 29th, Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station announced that they have arrested and are investigating a man identified as A (early 40s) on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud).

A is accused of contacting six small business victims through an internet portal site cafe from November last year to March this year, deceiving them by promising to supply cosmetics and health functional foods, collecting about 1.5 billion KRW, and fleeing.

For the first two months, A supplied goods normally to the victims, but from a certain point, he increased the amounts and used a so-called 'Ponzi scheme' method before disappearing.

It was investigated that after being sentenced to prison for a similar previous offense and released at the end of December 2020, A worked as a substitute driver and laborer but committed this crime due to financial difficulties.

The police secured clues by analyzing mobile phone call records and arrested A, who had gone into hiding in an officetel in the Gyeongsang-do area.

The police are investigating the exact circumstances of the case involving A and plan to apply for an arrest warrant soon.

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