Group Deceived Farmers and Embezzled Solar Power Facility Deposit Sent to Prosecution

Company Without Installation Capability Exposed Operating

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] A fraud ring accused of swindling large sums of money under the pretext of installing solar power generation facilities from farmers nationwide has been arrested by the police.

The Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency's Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit 1 announced on the 19th that 13 people, including Mr. A, were arrested on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and sent to the prosecution.

The police also booked 18 others involved in the fraud without detention on the same charges.

Since 2020, Mr. A and others randomly called farming households in towns and townships nationwide, falsely promoting that stable income could be earned through solar power generation facilities, but it was revealed that they set up and operated companies without actual installation capabilities.

They deceived farmers by claiming that installation could proceed if only 10% of the total cost was paid as a deposit, swindling from as little as 1.8 million won to as much as 102 million won per farm.

The number of victims nationwide was investigated to be 854, with total damages amounting to 17.5 billion won.

Mr. A and others continued their crimes by changing corporations four times using proxies called so-called 'Bajisajang' (front managers), and a significant portion of the criminal proceeds was squandered on entertainment expenses, while some were used for corporate operating costs such as labor expenses.

The police have recovered 9 billion won from them and plan to additionally seize and preserve 1.5 billion won.

They are also conducting additional investigations targeting three solar power facility installation companies suspected of similar fraudulent activities.

A police official warned, “If a deposit is demanded before obtaining a permit for solar power facility development, it is highly likely to be a fraud crime,” urging caution.

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