Car Leasing Company Led by Famous Actors and Comedians... Billions in Deposits Embezzled

Seocho Police Station Receives Fraud Complaint
Auto Lease Business Revealed as 'Ponzi Scam'

The CEO of a leasing company who disappeared without returning car lease deposits worth billions of won to customers has been sued on fraud charges. The company attracted customers by employing famous celebrities as staff or featuring them in advertisements, but it was revealed that the business was actually operated as a Ponzi scheme.

On the 1st, the Seocho Police Station announced that Yoo, the CEO of used car sales company B, and company officials have been sued on charges including fraud. They disappeared without returning the deposits received during the process of signing car lease contracts with customers.

Established in 2010, company B is a large used car sales business with branches nationwide. Since 2017, the company has also operated an auto lease business where customers pay a fixed monthly amount to rent cars owned by the company for the contract period. B attracted customers through low usage fees and advertisements featuring dealer Lee, a former famous comedian, and well-known actors.

They promoted that if customers paid 30-40% of the vehicle price as a deposit, about half of the monthly payment would be subsidized. They also promised to return 70-80% of the deposit already paid at the end of the contract. Additionally, they arranged for customers to sign lease contracts with capital companies while simultaneously making side agreements where B would support part of the customers’ lease payments.

However, at the end of the contract period, a mass non-return of deposits occurred. It turned out that B had been operating as a Ponzi scheme, using deposits from new customers to pay off existing customers. Recently, due to the economic downturn and lack of new customers, the company was unable to repay the principal to existing customers.

So far, it is reported that 1,000 to 2,000 victims have not received their deposits back from company B. The amount of damage ranges from tens of millions of won per person to as much as 700 million won. The victims have created group chat rooms to share their experiences and have actively responded by hiring lawyers.

Meanwhile, CEO Yoo is fully denying the fraud charges. In a statement posted on the company’s website on the 18th of last month, he said, "It seems unlikely that B can be restored to normal operations," but added, "The company will not avoid responsibility and will take full responsibility by preparing countermeasures for customer requests and damages, even if it takes time."

Also, dealer Lee, a former comedian at company B, appeared on a YouTube channel at the end of last month and said, "Having worked mainly as a comedian for a long time, I was not familiar with the company system and vehicles, so I did not think it was fraud," adding, "If I had known it was fraud, I would not have done it." He continued, "I am sincerely sorry. I hope those who signed contracts because of me do not suffer damages."