Church Deacon and 400 Congregants Defrauded of 67 Billion Won in Stock Investment Scam... Mid-Level Actor Also Victimized

Received Investment Funds for 'Ponzi Scheme'
"I Trusted the Promised 18% Annual Return"

A man in his 40s, Mr. A, who posed as a stock investment expert at a large church in the Incheon area and collected investment funds amounting to 67 billion KRW from church members and others, embezzling part of the money, has been indicted while in custody.

The Criminal Division 5 of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Eun-ha) announced on the 30th that Mr. A (42) was recently indicted in custody on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud).

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Mr. A is accused of embezzling 5 billion KRW from 16 church members while operating an office in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, from 2016 until last year. He is also suspected of collecting 66.8 billion KRW from a total of 425 people through unauthorized fundraising.

Unauthorized fundraising refers to raising funds from an unspecified number of people by promising principal and interest guarantees without approval from financial authorities.

Mr. A introduced himself as a stock investment expert and deceived victims by promising, "The principal is guaranteed, and I will return profits at a minimum annual interest rate of 18%." It was found that he committed the crime over a long period by engaging in a so-called ‘Ponzi scheme,’ using new investors’ money to pay returns to earlier investors.

The victims invested between a minimum of 10 million KRW and a maximum of 2 billion KRW each with Mr. A, and some did not receive their principal back. Many of the victims were church members where Mr. A served as a Kwon-sa (church officer) and their acquaintances. Among the victims was also a mid-level actor.

Previously, Mr. A operated a management consulting firm and posed as a stock investment expert, and at a young age, he even obtained the title of Kwon-sa at the church.

A prosecutor stated, “We plan to strictly punish multi-victim cases targeting ordinary citizens, such as illegal unauthorized fundraising.” The police are also investigating five accomplices who recruited investors for Mr. A, who have been booked without detention.

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