"Make Money While Having Fun on Weekends"... Celebrities and Others Sentenced for Leading Investment Fraud

Charges Including Criminal Organization Activities... Sentenced to 1 to 4 Years Imprisonment
Court: "Victims Were Negligent but False Advertising Was the Main Cause"

Four members of a 'financial investment fraud' organization, who lured victims by posting high-profit advertisements on social networking services (SNS) and extorted a total of over 10 billion KRW from hundreds of people, were sentenced to prison. Among the members, it is known that there is also a celebrity in their 30s.

'Investment Scam' Gang's High-Profit Bait Advertisement
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

According to a Yonhap News report on the 15th, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Lee Young-jin) sentenced A (31), who was indicted on charges of fraud and joining and participating in a criminal organization, to 1 year in prison; B (31) and C (31) to 3 years and 6 months each; and D (28) to 4 years in prison.

They were tried on charges of conspiring with members of a fraudulent criminal organization disguised as 'financial investment leading' to embezzle from victims amounts ranging from as little as 260 million KRW to as much as over 10 billion KRW each.

A, who had been active as a celebrity, claimed that he "did not have a clear awareness of joining and participating in a criminal organization," but the court did not accept this, stating that "it is reasonable to consider it a criminal organization under the Criminal Act."

B and C claimed that they acted alone, and D argued that he "only helped by running errands for a cousin who held a key position in the organization" and was "an accomplice, not a principal offender," but the court rejected all these claims.

The court stated, "Although the victims also deposited the money without thoroughly examining the investment due to their desire to gain high profits in a short period, the main cause was the false advertisements, inducements, and deceptive acts by the criminal organization." Regarding the sentencing reasons, the court explained, "The sentences were determined by considering the defendants' respective positions and roles, the circumstances and extent of their involvement, the duration and frequency of the crimes, the amount embezzled, and the actual gains obtained."

Meanwhile, among other arrested members of the organization, two were previously sentenced to 7 years and 3 years and 6 months in prison respectively, and their sentences have been finalized.

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