'Reading Room Fraud' Organizer of Fake Bank Accounts Sentenced to Prison in First Trial

The person in charge of managing bank accounts used as "ghost accounts" in the 'Leading Room Scam' was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial.

According to the legal community on the 22nd, the Criminal Division 12 of the Seoul Western District Court (Chief Judge Kwon Seong-su) sentenced Jeong Mo (35), who was indicted on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to two years in prison on the 20th of last month. The court explained the sentencing by stating, "He participated in an organized fraud crime as a recruiter and manager of ghost accounts, and considering the method and content of the crime as well as the scale of the damage, the nature of the crime is not good. He denied involvement and did not show remorse, and no restitution has been made," but also noted, "Jeong did not primarily plan or direct the crime, nor did he directly deceive the victims."

The organization Jeong was involved in consisted of a general manager, a leading room promotion team, a site management team, and recruiters/managers of ghost accounts. From February to May 2021, they impersonated 'asset managers' in open chat rooms, induced people to sign up as members of websites they created, and then received investment funds into accounts. They promised high returns through foreign exchange trading and sports Toto, and also encouraged investments in cryptocurrencies. It was investigated that they embezzled a total of 693.89 million KRW through 26 transfers using these methods.

Jeong's side claimed that he only sold ghost accounts and did not conspire or participate in the leading room scam. However, the court did not accept this claim based on account and communication records. A note with words such as 'leading instructions, currency exchange, deposit, headquarters, balance' was also found in Jeong's vehicle.

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