Seventy-Year-Old Conman Who Swindled 2.3 Billion Won by Posing as a Billionaire Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

Swindled a Total of 2.3 Billion Won from Three Victims
Spent on Living Expenses or Squandered at Casinos

The appellate court has upheld the prison sentence for a man in his seventies who impersonated a billionaire and swindled billions of won under the pretense of cash transport fees.

The Seoul Court Building, which houses the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

On May 17, the Criminal Division 1 of the Chuncheon Panel of the Seoul High Court (presiding judge Lee Eunhye) announced that it had dismissed the appeal of Mr. A (age 76), who was indicted on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and maintained the original verdict of six years in prison. Mr. A was put on trial for defrauding a total of 2.3 billion won (1.5 billion, 500 million, and 300 million won from each victim respectively) from three victims under the guise of covering cash transfer expenses.

Investigations revealed that Mr. A pretended to be wealthy and deceived victims by saying, "Lend me money needed to transfer bank deposits," habitually swindling small amounts from each household hundreds of times. Using a typical Ponzi scheme, Mr. A continued his crimes, spending the defrauded money on living expenses or squandering it all at casinos. One of the victims suffered severe losses, losing most of their life savings.

After being indicted and detained, Mr. A appealed the prison sentence handed down in the first trial, claiming it was too severe, but the court's decision remained unchanged. The appellate court stated, "The victims have not forgiven the defendant at all, and there is no substantial change in circumstances that would warrant altering the sentence," emphasizing that social isolation is inevitable.

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