Meeting and Defrauding While Dating Through a Blind Date App
A man in his 50s who introduced himself as "a graduate of Seoul National University College of Medicine and a practicing doctor in the United States" to a woman he met on a smartphone dating app and swindled about 1.2 billion KRW was sentenced to prison.
On the 27th, the 12th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court (Chief Judge Kim Sang-gyu) sentenced Mr. A (51) to five years in prison. The court stated, "Considering the circumstances and content of the crime, the defendant's attitude after the crime, and the relationship with the victim, the guilt is very serious," and added, "Given the severe financial damage to the victim, a harsh punishment for the defendant is inevitable. The defendant has hardly made any restitution so far and appears to have no concrete plan for future repayment," explaining the sentencing rationale.
Earlier, Mr. A and Ms. B first met in 2016 through a smartphone dating app. Mr. A introduced himself to Ms. B as "a graduate of Seoul National University College of Medicine and a pediatrician practicing in the United States." However, this was all a lie. Mr. A had no particular occupation and was living by investing in stocks and overseas futures. As this lifestyle continued and debts to financial institutions accumulated, he decided to borrow money from Ms. B, whom he trusted and had met.
The first time Mr. A asked Ms. B to lend him money was around 2018, when their relationship had just started and trust was building. Mr. A borrowed 3 million KRW from Ms. B, saying, "I need to pay the interest on the mortgage for my house in the U.S. If you lend me money, I will repay it by selling my houses in the U.S. and Jamsil."
After that, he pretended to be opening a clinic and asked for hundreds of thousands of won at a time under the pretexts of interior costs, medical equipment rental fees, and hospital staff salaries. He also borrowed money every two to three days, citing reasons such as needing to lift seizures related to clinic opening debts or litigation costs. The amount borrowed at one time sometimes exceeded 10 million KRW.
Trusting Mr. A, Ms. B transferred amounts ranging from as little as 30,000 KRW to as much as 30 million KRW. Mr. A's fraudulent acts against Ms. B continued for four years. During that time, he borrowed 1.25 billion KRW in 336 transactions. It was confirmed that Mr. A squandered the money he defrauded from Ms. B on stock and overseas futures investments and by pretending to be a doctor.
Mr. A was prosecuted for fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. However, it was reported that he has hardly repaid the damages to Ms. B. Nonetheless, the court acknowledged that Mr. A admitted to all the crimes and showed remorse, and that he had no prior record of similar offenses.
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