A tenant who signed a sublease contract and embezzled money without the landlord's consent was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial.
According to the legal community on the 30th, Judge Yoo Dong-gyun of the Criminal Division 24 at the Seoul Central District Court recently sentenced tenant Lee (47) to two years in prison on charges of fraud and forgery of private documents. He was also ordered to compensate the victims 20 million won.
Previously, from February to September last year, Lee was accused of deceiving landlords in the Gangnam and Seocho districts of Seoul into believing he had obtained consent for subleasing, and embezzling a total of 110 million won from five victims who signed sublease contracts with him under the pretense of security deposits and monthly rent.
According to the prosecution, Lee created fake 'sublease consent forms' on a computer, printed them with the statement "We confirm and consent that subleasing is possible at the address leased to Lee," and personally forged the landlords' signatures on the signature lines of these fake consent forms.
In particular, the fake consent forms stated, "The building owner delegates all obligations to tenant Lee. Personal contact with the building owner is prohibited," preventing the victims from contacting the building owners directly.
There were also cases where Lee pretended that the rented house was his own property. He posted an advertisement titled "Looking for a female housemate" on an internet cafe, stating, "This house is mine. I will rent out a small room for a security deposit of 20 million won," deceiving the victims. When a victim who checked the registration details asked, "Are you the owner?" Lee lied, saying, "I have received permission for subleasing from the landlord, so there is no problem proceeding with the contract."
It was investigated that Lee continued committing the remaining crimes after being prosecuted for the first victim in this case. It was also confirmed that he had two prior convictions for similar offenses, including a sentence of one year and two months in prison using the same method.
The court stated, "He pretended to be the owner of the leased house or a tenant with sublease rights," adding, "The method of the crime was very malicious, and except for 3.7 million won returned to some victims, the damages have not been recovered." The court also pointed out, "His sense of compliance is low, and the risk of reoffending is very high." However, the court considered that Lee admitted to all the crimes and that his mental health was not good.
Lee appealed the first trial verdict.
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