Embezzled 180 Million Won from Victims in Their 60s-70s
Hired Part-Time Worker Posing as Police via Proxy Agency
Court: "No Compensation for Victims"... Sentenced to 5 Years Imprisonment
A man in his 30s who worked as a librarian was sentenced to prison for demanding urgent money from elderly people by falsely claiming they had been victims of telephone financial fraud (voice phishing), extorting victims' retirement funds, children's wedding money, and retirement living expenses.
On the 15th, the Chuncheon District Court Gangneung Branch Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Jeong Su-gyeong) announced that A (39), who was indicted on charges including fraud, was sentenced to five years in prison. From October 2021 to July last year, A was tried on charges of extorting 140 million won from three people in their 60s and 70s, including B (73), and one person in their 40s, through 78 instances of lying, saying, "I was a victim of voice phishing. I urgently need money, so if you lend it to me, I will pay it back." The indictment also included charges that from February to March last year, A used B's mobile phone to take out loans about five times totaling approximately 40 million won and then embezzled the money.
The prosecution, which took over A's case without detention, judged that there was a high possibility that A had committed additional crimes based on a petition written by B's child. After uncovering another fraudulent act through account analysis, A was arrested. The librarian committed the crimes against elderly people who came to borrow books and acquaintances. The victims' money included government employee retirement funds, their son's wedding money, and retirement living expenses.
During the investigation, it was revealed that A had falsified account statements to pretend to have the ability to repay or to appear as if he had been a victim of voice phishing. He even hired a part-time worker who impersonated a police officer through an acting agency and forged a joint guarantee confirmation letter using stolen resident registration cards to pressure victims into settlements.
Ultimately, A was indicted on nine charges including fraud, computer-related fraud, forgery of private documents, use of forged private documents, alteration of private documents, use of altered private documents, forgery of private documents, use of forged private documents, and violation of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act. Additionally, charges of trespassing and theft from July to September last year were added, bringing the total number of charges against A to 14.
A submitted multiple letters of remorse late in the process, pleading for leniency, but the court did not accept them. The court pointed out, "The defendant committed these crimes mainly against elderly victims who are not familiar with non-face-to-face financial transactions, and despite the damage amount exceeding 180 million won, no restitution has been made at all." The court continued, "The defendant only verbally promised to 'compensate the victims and asked for time to reach a settlement,' but in reality, it appears that no effort has been made to restore the damage. The defendant exploited the trust of the victims to carry out long-term loan fraud, showing a high possibility of condemnation and risk of reoffending. In B's case, additional damage is serious as they have to file civil lawsuits against financial institutions due to the crime," explaining the reasons for sentencing.
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