“Want to Ride a Foreign Car for Free?” ... Gang Arrested and Indicted for Pocketing 1.6 Billion Won Through Double Loans

Busan District Prosecutors' Office. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] A gang that deceived victims into believing they could get used imported cars for free and embezzled money by taking out double loans in the victims' names has been arrested.

The Busan District Prosecutors' Office Marine and Violent Crime Task Force announced on the 12th that four people, including 39-year-old Mr. A, were either detained or indicted without detention on charges of fraud, forgery of private documents, and use of forged private documents.

According to the prosecution, the gang applied for double loans at financial institutions 38 times using the names of 19 used car buyers from April 2018 to July 2019.

The total amount embezzled through the double loans was 1.67 billion KRW, and they exploited the fact that loan details were not shared when receiving used car purchase loans from two financial institutions on the same day.

The gang received legitimate used car purchase loans from first-tier financial institutions and then submitted false documents secured by the vehicles to second-tier financial institutions to obtain additional loans.

At the time of the crime, some first-tier financial institutions offered products that lent used car purchase funds without securing the car as collateral.

For the first few months after the loans, the gang deceived the victims by paying interest in a loan rollover manner, but eventually stopped paying the loan interest, and the victims realized the crime when they received interest payment demands from banks and capital companies.

Most victims managed to repay the high-interest capital loans by selling used cars or raising urgent funds, but it is known that they have not been able to repay the first-tier financial institution loans.

A prosecution official said, "This is a fraud crime that deceived victims into thinking they could drive imported cars for free, leaving them in debt," and added, "We will ensure that punishments commensurate with crimes threatening the lives of ordinary citizens are enforced."

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