Over 2 Years, a Man in His 60s Extorted 900 Million Won in 662 Instances... Created a Virtual Character 'Ssaem' to Play Two Roles

The 12th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court sentenced Mr. A (62), who was detained and indicted on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to four years in prison on the 12th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A woman in her 60s who extorted money 662 times over two years was sentenced to prison. During the process of demanding money, she even created a fictional character named 'Ssaem' and played two roles.

The 12th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court sentenced A (62) to four years in prison on the 12th for fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The court also ordered her to pay victim B (60) 929.09 million won.

On August 22, 2018, A deceived B by saying, "Money is expected to be deposited from a construction company, and I will repay you soon," and borrowed 10 million won. Using this method, A borrowed over 900 million won from B in 662 instances until June 18, 2020.

A pressured B by saying, "If you put in just a little more money, the construction company will definitely release the funds," and "If you don't send the money now, everything will become invalid."

A pretended to be a fictional man named 'Ssaem' and sent text messages to B five to six times. 'Ssaem' sent messages to B saying, "Deposit the money within the specified time. If you do, you can recover the money you previously lent."

Even after B filed a fraud complaint against A, the demands for money continued. A claimed to have partially repaid B, but the court did not accept this.

The court stated, "Most of the money A swindled was spent or used to repay existing debts, and due to persistent monetary demands, B lived for two years with her daily life destroyed. B lost her lifelong savings and suffers from family discord."

It added, "Considering that A has made no effort to restore the damage and that B is pleading for severe punishment, the sentence was determined."