Chat App "US Permanent Resident Photojournalist" Lie... 40s Woman Given Probation for Extorting Money
A man in his 40s who pretended to be a photojournalist with a U.S. green card and gained the favor of women he met through a chat application (app) before extorting tens of millions of won was sentenced to a suspended prison term.
According to the legal community on the 7th, Judge Choi Gi-won of the Criminal Division 13 at the Seoul Northern District Court sentenced A (45), who was indicted on fraud charges, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension and ordered 160 hours of community service.
The court stated, "He approached multiple women to form intimate relationships and then committed fraud by exploiting personal trust, showing very poor criminal conduct. He also has a history of several criminal punishments for fraud and other offenses," adding, "He reached settlements after fully reimbursing three victims, and although he was not forgiven by one other victim, the fact that he deposited the full amount of the damages in escrow was considered a favorable circumstance," explaining the sentencing rationale.
A was indicted on charges of embezzling 55.6 million won from four women he met through a chat app while illegally staying in the Philippines from May 2013 to January 2014. The victims gave A amounts ranging from as little as 5.53 million won to as much as 19.78 million won.
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He approached women by lying that he was a Singaporean national with a U.S. green card working as an underwater photography specialist photojournalist or that he graduated from Columbia University in the U.S. He then received money by saying, "I want to marry and live together in the U.S. If we marry, I will let you study at New York University." He also asked them to buy gifts for government officials, claiming he was staying in the Philippines to settle his deceased father's business, or embezzled money by promising that if they sent airfare costs, he would let them enjoy Singapore without worrying about expenses.
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