9.6 Billion Won Remittance Fraud... Imprisonment for Middle Manager of 'Fake Coin Site'

A man in his 40s who acted as a middle manager by recruiting and managing dummy bank accounts used by a criminal organization involved in investment fund embezzlement under the guise of a virtual asset trading site scam, as well as handling victims' reports, was sentenced to six years in prison in the first trial.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The middle manager of a 'virtual asset investment scam' organization, which caused remittance damages amounting to approximately 9.6 billion KRW, was sentenced to prison in the first trial.

According to the court on the 9th, Judge Lee Kyung-rin of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 recently sentenced Choi (41, male), who was indicted on charges including fraud and violation of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, to six years in prison.

Previously, Choi was brought to trial on charges of acting as a middle manager in a 'virtual asset trading site impersonation scam' organization from September last year for about eight months, recruiting and managing fake bank accounts used by the criminal organization to embezzle investment funds, and handling victims' reports.

The organization was headquartered in Manila, Philippines, and created fake virtual asset trading sites. The members divided roles such as ▲recruiting and consulting investors ▲investment trainers ▲supplying fake bank accounts ▲money laundering ▲withdrawing criminal proceeds ▲currency exchange.

They sent advertising messages such as "guaranteed high returns" and "investor recruitment" or recruited members through KakaoTalk open chat rooms. During this process, they induced membership registration by certifying high returns with methods like "guaranteeing profit rates," then extorted money under the pretexts of virtual asset margin trading investment funds and withdrawal fees for profits.

It was investigated that Choi, in collusion with the organization's leader, received remittances totaling approximately 9.629 billion KRW from 196 victims. Additionally, Choi prepared 32 fake bank accounts, including ghost corporation accounts, and delivered them to the leader.

In court, Choi's side denied most charges, claiming they thought it was just an illegal sports gambling site and did not expect to be involved in a virtual asset investment scam. It was confirmed that Choi was previously sentenced to three years and six months in prison in 2016 for crimes including forgery of official documents.

The first trial found Choi guilty. The judge stated, "The defendant increased the transfer limits of corporate bank accounts and changed the corporate names to ones suitable for cryptocurrency exchange companies to launder the organization's funds, and appeared to have played a so-called 'incident management' role by responding to damage reports." The judge also explained, "Having worked for 11 years in savings banks and insurance companies handling loan operations, the defendant likely took charge of managing bank accounts within the organization due to this financial work experience."

The judge pointed out, "There were many victims and huge financial damages, and the victims suffered not only property losses but also significant mental distress. No restitution has been made, and some victims have petitioned for severe punishment. Despite prior criminal records, the defendant committed this crime during the recidivism period (within three years after the completion or exemption of sentence execution)."

However, the judge added, "On the other hand, the defendant cooperated with the investigation and contributed to the arrest of other organization members, which is considered a favorable circumstance."

Both the prosecution and Choi appealed the first trial verdict.