A group that deceived people by pretending to sell IPO stocks in a stock leading chatroom impersonating a media company and embezzled 2.2 billion KRW has been arrested and sent to trial.
On the 10th, the Criminal Division 3 of Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Son Sang-hee) announced that they had arrested and indicted Mr. A, a man in his 20s who was the mastermind, and Mr. B, who supplied personal information of victims, on charges including fraud the previous day.
They are accused of luring victims into an open chatroom impersonating Money Today stock leading chatroom from October last year to March this year, falsely promising actual IPO stocks, and embezzling a total of 2.2 billion KRW from 34 victims.
According to the prosecution's investigation, they named the open chatroom "M.T.N Information Sharing Room" and pretended to be the team leader and senior researcher of Money Today, sending business cards to the victims. They also deceived victims by using contracts and delivery certificates under the name of Money Today.
Mr. A, as the mastermind of the organization, oversaw the stock leading chatroom and withdrew and distributed cash through a money laundering organization called "Hwanjip," while Mr. B, as the "DB supplier," secured and delivered scripts for situational fraud used in the crime via Telegram and personal information data to identify victims. Three division heads were sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial on the 30th of last month, and five sales team members, who are lower-level members, are under investigation by the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station.
A prosecution official said, "We will thoroughly investigate crimes using stock leading chatrooms that deceive honest small investors, strictly punish them, and relentlessly track and confiscate criminal proceeds."
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