Rebate Received and Villa Ownership Transferred... Suspended Sentence for Capital-Free Gap Investor

Conditions for Lease Deposit Return Succession
Villa Sold with 700,000 Won Commission Fee

A no-capital gap investor who received ownership of a villa from a real estate consulting firm without the capacity to return the lease deposit was sentenced to imprisonment with a suspended sentence.

On the 14th, Judge Seo Dong-won of the Criminal Division 6 at the Seoul Eastern District Court announced that A (31), who was tried on charges of fraud, was sentenced to one year in prison with a three-year suspension.

A was indicted on charges of receiving ownership of a villa without financial capacity and embezzling the lease deposit from the jeonse tenant.

In 2021, A accepted a proposal from real estate consultant B to transfer the ownership of the villa under A’s name in exchange for a rebate worth approximately 700,000 won per case. B signed a jeonse contract with victim C for 205 million won, which included the seller’s desired sale price of 169 million won plus the rebate amount. Subsequently, A received ownership of the villa on the condition of being responsible for returning C’s lease deposit.

However, it was confirmed that A had neither the economic ability nor the intention to return the deposit. As a so-called no-capital gap investor, A had no steady income other than the commission earned from purchasing the villa. A planned to split the difference between the lease deposit received from C and the purchase price with the real estate consulting firm.

The court explained the sentencing rationale, stating, "The defendant denies the crime and has a prior criminal record of the same nature," but added, "Fortunately, it appears that the victim will be able to recover the full lease deposit."

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