"God Guarantees High Returns"... Deacon Embezzling 53 Billion Won Sentenced to 15 Years in Appeal Trial

Gained Trust by Attending Dawn Prayer, Embezzled Investment Funds
2nd Trial: "Deposit Extremely Low... Not a Sincere Reflection"

A deacon of a large church who deceived congregants by promising high returns and embezzled about 53 billion won in investment funds was sentenced to a medium prison term again in the second trial. Having gained the trust of church members by participating in early morning prayers and other activities, he reportedly deceived victims with statements such as "God guarantees high returns" and "Believe in the power of prayer."

On the 29th, Yonhap News reported that the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judges Seol Beom-sik, Lee Sang-ju, and Lee Won-seok) recently sentenced Deacon A (66), who was indicted in custody on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to 15 years in prison, the same as in the first trial.

[Photo by Pixabay]

A is accused of embezzling approximately 53 billion won from 53 people, including church members, between January 2016 and July 2021. After gaining the trust of congregants by participating in early morning prayers and volunteer activities, he exploited this trust to deceive victims by claiming that if they lent him money, he would use it for political funds or corporate slush funds laundering to generate large profits and pay extremely high interest rates reaching thousands of percent within one month. He also pressured hesitant church members to invest more by saying things like "God guarantees high returns" and "Believe in the power of prayer" to extract money.

With the embezzled money, A lived in a famous residential-commercial complex apartment in Gangnam, drove a foreign luxury car, and spent on his children's overseas education and luxury goods purchases.

Both the first and second trial courts sentenced him to 15 years in prison, stating that "A's criminal nature is very bad." The second trial court noted, "Although A deposited a certain amount of money in escrow for 40 victims during the appeal trial, the escrow amount is extremely small compared to the scale of the damage," and ruled, "It is difficult to see that he sincerely reflected on his crimes or made serious efforts to recover the damages." The court added, "A considerable number of victims expressed their intention not to receive the escrow money and are still petitioning for severe punishment of A," explaining the sentencing rationale.

Earlier, the first trial court criticized, "A flaunted his wealth as if he were a highly successful businessman, attracting admiration from those around him while misleading them into believing he could provide high returns," and stated, "There are many victims whose families have been ruined or who are struggling to maintain basic living standards due to the fraud."

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