20s Friends Who Claimed Tens of Millions with 'Traffic Accident Insurance Fraud' Sentenced to Prison with Probation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Twenty-something neighborhood friends who committed so-called 'insurance fraud' by deliberately causing traffic accidents to receive insurance payments such as medical expenses from insurance companies were sentenced to prison with suspended sentences.

According to the court on the 7th, Judge Kang Minho of the Criminal Division 10 at the Seoul Central District Court sentenced A (26, male), B (26, male), and C (26, male), who were indicted for violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, to 1 year and 4 months imprisonment, 1 year imprisonment, and 8 months imprisonment, respectively, with the execution of the sentences suspended for 2 years. They were also ordered to perform 80 to 240 hours of community service. D (23, female), who was B’s girlfriend and involved in the related crimes, was sentenced to 4 months imprisonment with a 1-year suspended sentence.

Previously, neighborhood friends A and B lured C and D by saying, "It’s easy to get insurance money by causing traffic accidents. Let’s do it together," and were brought to trial on charges of committing insurance fraud about 10 times in the Seoul area from December 2019 to November 2020.

They rode together in a vehicle, selected cars that were about to change lanes ahead, and rear-ended them, each time claiming insurance payments of 2.2 million to 11.8 million won from insurance companies as if the accidents had occurred by chance. One insurance company suspected insurance fraud related to an accident in January 2020 and refused to pay, but the crimes continued afterward. It was investigated that more than five vehicles were used in these crimes.

Judge Kang criticized, "Insurance fraud causes potential harm to many insurance subscribers and is a crime that is not easy to detect and punish. The defendants’ method of committing crimes by deliberately causing traffic accidents with cars poses a significant risk of material and personal damage to the victim vehicles and their occupants. It can be regarded as an act of causing injury to others with a dangerous object, so the guilt of the crime is not light."

Regarding A, he pointed out, "The number of offenses reached six, and compared to the other defendants, the degree of involvement is not light. The damage suffered by the victim companies from each offense amounts to about 59 million won." About B and C, he said, "The number of offenses is four, and they directly drove the vehicles and committed direct harmful acts. The damage amount is about 25 to 29 million won." However, he also considered that they showed remorse for their crimes and partially compensated for the damages.

Since neither A nor the prosecution appealed, the first trial verdict was finalized as is.

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