15 Out of 58 Apprehended Gang Members Detained
A group that established a fake stock investment company and swindled 5 billion KRW from over 600 people has been apprehended by the police.
According to the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency on the 16th, a total of 58 members of a stock investment "leading room" organization, including the ringleader identified as Mr. A (46), operated call centers in Incheon, Gyeonggi, and other areas from August 2019 to April 2024, and are accused of defrauding 697 members out of 5 billion KRW. The police arrested all 58 members, and 15 of them have been detained on fraud charges.
It was revealed that the group made members install fake stock trading programs on their mobile phones or computers and then had them deposit investment funds into ghost corporation accounts.
To evade investigation, the group periodically changed the company name, call center office, and operations team office, and meticulously used burner phones and accounts under ghost corporation names.
After noticing that these leading room scam organizations were operating multiple call centers, the police began tracking them in 2020 and, after four years, managed to apprehend the ringleader, call center team leaders, and counselors. Sixty related cases nationwide were consolidated, and assets worth 700 million KRW were seized or preserved for forfeiture.
A police official stated, "We will continue to investigate additional crimes and accomplices of the suspects," and advised, "Since investment solicitation through call centers is becoming common, people should be suspicious of whether the investment contract is legitimate and check if the financial company is officially licensed."
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