Family Pretending to Have 'Jeonsinmabi' Paralysis to Make Money Caught on CCTV

Claimed over 100 million insurance payout, then filed additional 1.2 billion claim
Walking and running caught on video near residence

A family who pretended to be paralyzed to fraudulently claim insurance money worth over 100 million won and attempted to claim an additional 1.29 billion won in insurance was caught after CCTV footage showed them in perfectly normal condition.

According to a report by Yonhap News on the 12th, the Daejeon Dongbu Police Station announced that they had sent three family members, including a man in his 20s identified as A, to prosecution without detention on charges of violating the Special Act on Insurance Fraud Prevention. They conspired with A, who was experiencing pain in his right arm, to feign total paralysis and obtained a disability diagnosis certificate from a university hospital in Seoul around October 2021. Using this certificate, A and others fraudulently received 180 million won from two insurance companies and later claimed an additional 1.29 billion won from three other insurers.

The photo on the left shows Mr. A, in his 20s, who pretended to have full-body paralysis, standing up from a wheelchair and getting into a taxi. The photo on the right shows Mr. A using a wheelchair at the hospital and other places.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome in his right arm after a medical accident at the university hospital around March 2016 and received a settlement of about 300 million won from the hospital. Exploiting the fact that a total paralysis diagnosis would result in higher insurance payouts, he continued to falsely claim pain and obtained a disability diagnosis certificate from the same hospital. Additionally, A’s father in his 50s and sister in her 20s conspired in the crime by collectively stating that "A’s daily life is impossible."

A pretended to be unable to move even in front of insurance company employees who visited his residence for insurance claim assessments. However, thanks to the keen observation of one insurance company employee, their crime was uncovered. This employee, who worked at the insurance company that was asked to pay about 400 million won, became suspicious after seeing A walking normally at the hospital and filed a complaint with the police.

Subsequently, the police began an investigation around February last year. After analyzing CCTV footage near their residence and smartphone communication records for about seven months, their crime was fully exposed. The suspects initially denied the charges, but when the investigation team presented CCTV evidence showing A walking normally and running up the stairs at his residence, they eventually confessed.

A representative of the Daejeon Dongbu Police Station stated, "Insurance fraud is a malicious crime that increases the insurance premiums burden on many honest policyholders," and added, "We will do our best to prevent damage through a special insurance fraud crackdown period operating until the end of this month."

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