Prosecutors Apply Criminal Organization Charges for the First Time to 'Leading Investment Fraud Group'

"High Returns Guaranteed on Stock and Coin Picks" Mass Text Messages Sent
Over 120 Organization Accounts Traced Back... 1.4 Billion KRW in Criminal Proceeds Seized and Preserved

The prosecution has, for the first time, applied charges of forming a 'criminal organization' against a stock and cryptocurrency leading investment fraud group and brought them to trial.

The Criminal Division 4 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Guk Sang-woo) announced on the 6th that it has indicted eight members of the leading investment fraud group on charges including organizing and operating a criminal organization, fraud, and violations of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

Leading investment refers to guiding investments in stocks and coins (cryptocurrencies) to generate high returns, widely conducted through messengers or YouTube. The group is accused of systematically sending fraudulent messages over a long period to numerous unspecified victims, claiming to select stock and coin items for investment and guaranteeing a daily return of 2% on transaction amounts, thereby pocketing 1.25 billion won.

This case is the first instance where the prosecution, through supplementary investigation after the police transferred the case, identified the full scope of the organized crime and classified the group sending leading investment fraud messages as a criminal organization.

The ringleader, Mr. A, meticulously prepared by setting up multiple computers, mobile phones, and other physical equipment in an office in Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam, and recruiting seven trusted members through acquaintances to form the criminal organization.

It was investigated that the group received victims' contact information and the content of messages to be sent via Telegram from another criminal organization committing leading investment fraud, and sent fraudulent messages to lure victims into leading investments using hacked messenger accounts of others.

When victims transferred funds to the criminal organization's front accounts used to execute the leading investment fraud, Mr. A received a portion of the funds as profit and distributed it to the members.

The prosecution explained that starting from 13 profit accounts, including front accounts and accounts under false names used by the criminal organization organized by Mr. A, they traced the flow of funds through about 120 accounts over approximately two months and identified seven additional victims.

Furthermore, the prosecution confirmed that Mr. A's organization received a total of approximately 1.464 billion won in criminal proceeds through the 13 profit accounts, secured records of the members' assets such as real estate, deposits, and cryptocurrencies, and filed for seizure preservation to freeze the disposal of these assets. The court approved the seizure preservation request for the entire amount of criminal proceeds.

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