"Luxury Bags at Employee Prices" Department Store Employee Scams VIP Customers Out of 2.4 Billion Won [Economic Crime 24 Hours]

Seller Who Deceived 139 People in Luxury Secondhand Agency Cafe
Department Store Employee Who Extorted Money Only from VIP Customers

"It was so hard to find even at department stores that I paid an extra fee..."

Baek Seong-hyun (pseudonym), a man in his 30s, tried several times to participate in department store opening runs to buy a Rolex watch he had his heart set on, but failed every time. However, he saw a post in an online luxury goods purchasing agency cafe that said the model could be bought through overseas direct purchase. Without hesitation, Baek decided to use the purchasing agency service and transferred over 20 million KRW to the seller.

However, months passed and the Rolex watch Baek bought never arrived. The seller only kept repeating that he should wait. Growing tired of waiting, Baek became anxious when posts from others who suffered similar damages kept appearing in the cafe, and eventually filed a complaint with the police along with other victims. Baek said, "It was such a large-scale cafe, and the seller seemed to be operating normally for months, so I never thought it would be a scam."

The photo is not directly related to the article content. [Photo by Asia Economy DB]

‘Muk-twi’ at Online Purchasing Agency Cafe... Arrested After 9 Months on the Run

The Intelligent Crime Investigation Team of the Namyangju Southern Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, which received reports of damages including Baek’s case, started an investigation into the seller, Mr. Lee, a man in his mid-40s. However, after responding once to the police summons, Lee fled just before the pre-arrest detention hearing when the police applied for an arrest warrant. This happened in March of last year.

The police continued their investigation while tracking Lee. The investigation revealed 139 victims. The damage amounts varied from several million KRW to tens of millions of KRW. The total confirmed damage amount reached 1.3 billion KRW. There were many who transferred 30 to 40 million KRW to purchase a single luxury watch like Baek.

Lee’s life on the run ended after 9 months. Avoiding even using a mobile phone to evade police tracking, Lee was caught at a hospital in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, at the end of December last year while seeking medical treatment. In the police investigation, Lee stated that he initially committed the crime because overseas import and export were disrupted due to COVID-19, causing supply shortages, and he tried to fulfill pre-placed orders.

Based on Lee’s continued crimes using the excuse of "awaiting customs clearance," the number of victims and the scale of damages, and the fact that he was on the run for over 9 months, the police arrested and sent Lee to prosecution on January 5 this year. The first trial for Lee is currently underway.

On the 25th, when Lotte Shopping began offline sales for the Duty-Free Luxury Brand Event, visitors were selecting products at the event hall of Lotte Department Store in Nowon-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Department Store Employee Scammed VIP Customers... Ultimately Behind Bars

In Daegu, a department store employee who deceived customers by promising to sell luxury bags at low prices was caught by the police. Shin (female, 40), an employee at a luxury goods store in a large department store in Daegu, defrauded customers of 2.4 billion KRW over several years by enticing them with offers to buy luxury bags at employee prices.

From 2012 to 2022, Shin worked at various department stores in Daegu and called customers she had become close to, falsely claiming that products were sold to employees at 60-80% off the regular price once every 2-3 years. One customer deceived by Shin transferred a total of 642.87 million KRW over 97 transactions from January 2014 to September 2020 as payment for luxury goods. In total, 19 customers were victimized by Shin’s crimes, with damages amounting to 2.4 billion KRW.

When customers demanded the products, Shin showed them email messages claiming they were sent from the luxury brand companies. The messages said that due to internal circumstances, delivery was delayed or canceled and that other products had to be ordered, but these messages were fabricated by Shin.

The Gangbuk Police Station in Daegu, which received reports from the victims, conducted the first investigation on April 25, 2022, and on June 9 of the same year, Shin was arrested and sent to prosecution on charges of fraud and forgery of private documents. The prosecution sought a 5-year prison sentence, and the court sentenced Shin to 5 years in prison, matching the prosecution’s request. The court stated, "The defendant’s crime is very serious and highly blameworthy," adding, "Some victims have not reached settlements, and over 2 billion KRW in damages have not been recovered."