The Court "Considers Actual Damage Amount Less Than Estimated and Additional Settlement Reached"
A group involved in a rental car-related investment scam that deceived hundreds of people and carried out fraudulent activities amounting to over 11.3 billion won received a reduced sentence in the appellate court.
[Asia Economy Reporter Intern Lee Gyehwa] A group that deceived hundreds of victims by claiming that investing in rental car-related products would yield high returns and embezzled a total of over 11.3 billion KRW has received reduced sentences in the appellate court.
On the 30th, the Ulsan 1st Criminal Division of the Busan High Court (Chief Judge Park Haebin) announced that in the appeal trial of company co-representatives A (34) and B (34), who were indicted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud) and other charges, each was sentenced to seven years in prison.
A and B were indicted on charges of deceiving 393 investors from September 2016 to January 2020 by claiming, "There is a high-yield product investing in rental cars," and promising to pay 10% annual interest monthly without any principal loss, embezzling a total of 11.31298 billion KRW.
They jointly operated a financial investment company and even gave media interviews stating that they were consistently earning high returns through stock and futures investments based on the principles of probability and statistics, but the company was actually in a state of capital erosion with no significant profits.
A and B promoted the vehicle rental business as their main business area, attracting investors by advertising it as a high-profit opportunity.
C held a position managing the sales team at the investment company, designing various investment products, producing promotional materials, and raising funds.
When investor recruitment did not proceed smoothly and debts increased, A and B manipulated sales and operating profits to falsely portray the company as profitable and secured loans totaling 1.75 billion KRW from two banks.
The appellate court stated the sentencing rationale, saying, "It is difficult to view the defendants' involvement as minor, and the victims' damages are considerably severe, making strict punishment inevitable. However, considering that they admitted their wrongdoing and deeply reflected on it, repaid a significant portion of the defrauded money, and reached settlements with some victims, the sentence was determined comprehensively."
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