StyleV, Osissa, etc... Over 810,000 Victims
4 More Sites Opened Despite Police Investigation
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The actual operator of online shopping mall sites who lured consumers with advertisements claiming to sell essential daily items such as ramen and rice at prices up to 80% lower than market prices, but only collected payment without delivering goods or providing refunds, has been arrested by the police.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 9th that they had arrested Choi (41), the actual operator of the online shopping mall sites StyleV and Osissa, on fraud charges on the 6th.
Choi is accused of operating sites such as StyleV and Osissa from February last year until recently, advertising food and daily necessities at prices about 80% cheaper than market prices, selling goods, but after receiving payment, either not sending the products or delaying refunds, thereby deceiving buyers.
According to the police, out of a total of 2,265,422 orders placed on StyleV and Osissa, 89.5%, or 2,026,436 orders, have not been delivered or refunded. The number of victims identified through the databases (DB) of the two shopping malls so far is 815,006, with total damages amounting to approximately 7.4 billion KRW. However, only 6,957 victims, representing 0.8% of the total, have reported to the police. In addition to buyers, four partner companies affiliated with these shopping malls also suffered damages as they did not receive payments.
Between 2018 and 2020, Choi operated 38 shopping malls through six corporations in a similar manner and served 10 months in prison for fraud. He committed these offenses again during his probation period after release. Choi reportedly denies the fraud charges, claiming it was merely "aggressive marketing." The police are also investigating six accomplices, including Yoon, who is listed as the representative of the shopping malls on paper, without detention.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Choi and others opened and operated four additional shopping malls?Dokkaebi Mart, Ssakdil, Beauty Hero, and Mom & Mart?even while under police investigation since June last year.
Hong Youngseon, head of the Cyber Investigation Unit at the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency, stated, "There is clear intent to exploit the fact that buyers do not report to the police due to small-scale damages. We believe this is a fraud case involving a scheme of running multiple sites, initially selling goods at about 20% of market price at a loss using the payments received, then stopping delivery and only refunding victims who report the issue, effectively using a shopping mall 'Ponzi' scheme."
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