Prosecutors Indict 10 Multi-Level Marketing Fraudsters Posing as Cryptocurrency Investors

The prosecution has brought to trial 10 multi-level marketing fraudsters who deceived investors through cryptocurrency investments and embezzled approximately 9.3 billion KRW.

On the 11th, the Cyber Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Hee-chan) announced that they have indicted without detention A (39) and nine others on charges including fraud, violation of the Act on the Regulation of Conducting Fund-Raising Business without Permission, and violation of the Door-to-Door Sales Act.

The group is accused of establishing a blockchain company and embezzling about 9.3 billion KRW from December 2020 to July 2021 through multi-level marketing and unauthorized fund-raising schemes. They deceived investors by setting up a cryptocurrency investment company and promising guaranteed principal and profits if they invested in the OO Coin mining business. In reality, due to insufficient capacity of the coin mining machines, they were unable to guarantee the promised returns.

They committed the crimes in an organized manner. They divided roles such as investment project design, investor recruitment, investment explanation and promotion, mining machine management, and computer system management to carry out the offenses. It was also revealed that they repeatedly committed fraud by using a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.

The prosecution detected clues to the related fraud case while investigating an online gambling operation case on October 21, 2021. Subsequently, they tracked cryptocurrency transfer records and analyzed the OO Coin mining status to identify the 10 suspects. During this process, they also identified and indicted damages related to some charges that the police had decided not to prosecute.

The prosecution requested arrest warrants for the four main perpetrators, but the court dismissed them considering factors such as repayment status, victims' wishes not to punish, and the extent of evidence collection.

A prosecution official stated, "We used scientific investigative techniques to uncover the methods of the crime," and added, "We will continue to respond strictly to cryptocurrency crimes that directly affect many ordinary citizens and make every effort to prevent similar damages."

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