"Posing as Fake University Student to Extort Money, 20s Say 'My Father Guaranteed the Debt...'"

University Community Member Scams 80 Million Won with Fake Story

A man in his 20s who posed as a fake enrolled student in an online college student community and swindled tens of millions of won was sentenced to prison.

The Busan District Court Criminal Division 4 (Presiding Judge Jang Byeong-jun) announced on the 28th that it sentenced Mr. A, who was tried on charges of fraud and embezzlement, to 1 year and 10 months in prison.

On March 5, 2022, Mr. A posted a story pretending to be an enrolled student in an online college student community. He then borrowed money from victims who contacted him after reading fake stories such as "My father stood as a guarantor for my uncle, but my uncle disappeared."

Using the same method, the total amount Mr. A collected from 42 people reached 84 million won. When posting the story, Mr. A said, "If you lend me 500,000 won, I will return 550,000 won with interest," and "I can also provide my ID and my parents' contact information."

However, it was later revealed that Mr. A was not a student at the university and had no ability to repay the borrowed money. In addition to these crimes, he also arbitrarily disposed of two computers (worth about 1.4 million won) installed in the officetel where he lived.

Investigations revealed that Mr. A purchased the ID and password of the online college student community from an unknown person.

The court stated, "The defendant committed crimes against multiple victims, and the damages to many victims have still not been recovered. Considering these points, punishment commensurate with the guilt is necessary."

However, the court explained the sentencing by saying, "The defendant is a first-time offender, admits the wrongdoing, and has reached settlements with some victims."

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