Approached by sending tens of millions of 'Byeolpoongseon'
Embezzled about 2.1 billion over 30 instances
A man in his 30s who approached internet personal broadcast hosts (BJs) by gifting them 'Star Balloons' worth tens of millions of won to gain their favor and then embezzled over 1 billion won under the pretext of cryptocurrency investment funds was sentenced to prison.
According to the legal community on the 3rd, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-1 (Presiding Judges Kim Jeong-gon, Kim Mi-kyung, Heo Gyeong-mu) sentenced A (32), who was indicted on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to five years in prison.
A was indicted on charges of embezzling about 2 billion won in 30 installments from two victims between November 2021 and January of the following year under the pretext of cryptocurrency investment funds.
The first victim was a famous BJ with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. The BJ noticed A, who had gifted Star Balloons worth tens of millions of won since June 2021, and contacted him directly via the 'whisper' function around September.
When the BJ complained about investment failures in stocks and coins, A pretended to be a cryptocurrency investment expert, showed a Bitcoin balance statement worth about 5.1 billion won, and proposed, "If you invest, I guarantee 2 to 4 times the return, and even if you incur losses, I will cover them with my own money."
Starting in November of that year, the BJ sent A 10 million won and eventually sent 1.5 billion won, which was almost the BJ's entire fortune. During this process, the two never met in person and communicated entirely online via KakaoTalk and other platforms.
In January 2022, when the BJ became anxious, A sent a Bitcoin balance statement showing 27.9 billion won and claimed to own four houses in Gangnam, but all of this was fabricated using computer manipulation. In reality, A was on the verge of bankruptcy after running a marketing company and had debts exceeding 70 million won.
A used the embezzled money to purchase Star Balloons worth 130 million won, pay employee salaries, repay personal debts, and invest in other cryptocurrencies.
He also extorted 500 million won from a businessman he met while trading marketing blogs using the same method.
A embezzled a total of about 2.1 billion won from the two victims but only returned about 100 million won to the BJ and 69 million won to the businessman.
The court stated the sentencing rationale, saying, "He exploited the victims' anxiety about not recovering large sums of money to demand additional investments or loans and even mocked the victims who demanded repayment. The BJ suffered damage close to their entire fortune, and the victims suffered such mental distress that they considered extreme measures, leading to calls for severe punishment."
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