AI Turns '23 Won' into '900 Million'... Doctor-Impersonating Man in His 20s Indicted in Custody after Even Fooling Judge

Posed as a doctor to defraud investors of 320 million won
Faked being a "wealthy individual" with AI when facing arrest
Indicted and detained after prosecutors traced the account in a supplementary probe

A man in his 20s who tried to avoid detention by using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to inflate his bank balance from just 23 won to 900 million won in order to deceive a judge has been brought to trial in custody after a direct supplementary investigation by the prosecution.

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Kang Jinhyung, Reporter

According to the legal community on the 11th, the Criminal Division 3 of the Dongbu Branch of the Busan District Prosecutors' Office (headed by Senior Prosecutor Kim Geon) announced that it had indicted a man in his 20s, identified only by his surname A, on February 6 under detention on charges including fraud, forgery of private documents, and uttering forged private documents.

According to the prosecution, between August and October last year, A is accused of impersonating a doctor and a businessman and fraudulently obtaining about 320 million won from victims under the pretense of investment funds and other purposes. During the investigation, it was revealed that A had used an AI image-generation function to fabricate a national medical licensing examination pass certificate and virtual currency asset statements, posing as a wealthy individual.

In particular, when an arrest warrant was requested on fraud charges, A used an AI platform to fabricate a false balance certificate for an account whose actual balance was only 23 won, making it appear as if more than 900 million won had been deposited, and submitted it to the court. At the time, the court believed the forged documents submitted by A and dismissed the arrest warrant, determining that "he has the financial capacity to compensate the victims."

After about a month had passed since the warrant was dismissed, the prosecution confirmed that A had still not returned the money to the victims and launched a direct supplementary investigation. Prosecutors focused on the fact that A had previously forged other evidence using AI. They then checked the bank's online certificate-issuance records and confirmed that the balance certificate in question was fake, and by executing a warrant to trace the account, they established that the actual balance was 23 won.

The prosecution subsequently obtained a new arrest warrant and, after further questioning, indicted A in custody.

A prosecution official stated, "This is a case where even a judge was deceived by a highly sophisticated forgery technique that is difficult to detect with the naked eye," adding, "Through proactive supplementary investigations, we will respond strictly to property crimes using AI technology and to acts that threaten judicial justice."

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