Fake Investment Site Sign-Up Inducement
Based in Cambodia... Transnational Organization
Fourteen Korean members of an organization who impersonated employees of a famous international investment advisory firm and embezzled billions of won in investment funds have been brought to trial.
On the 6th, the Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jo Jae-cheol) announced that they had arrested and indicted 12 people, including A (25), the head of the fraudulent organization's sales team, on charges of fraud, joining a criminal organization, and violating the Capital Markets Act, while indicting two others without detention.
According to the prosecution, the members of the organization are accused of impersonating employees of a famous investment advisory firm through social networking services (SNS) and other means, inducing victims to sign up for fake investment sites and make deposits, thereby embezzling about 2.9 billion won from 38 victims.
After receiving investment funds from the victims, they continued to persuade them to deposit more money by saying things like "You need to increase your shareholding ratio" and "There is an opportunity to purchase a large amount of stocks through a block deal, so you must keep buying stocks until that point," before shutting down the site and cutting off contact.
The victims were confirmed to be diverse, including elderly people over 60 years old who lacked financial knowledge and were unfamiliar with online platforms, as well as office workers in their late 20s to early 30s, religious figures, self-employed individuals, and housewives.
A prosecution official stated, "We will do our utmost to maintain the prosecution against the defendants, cooperate with the police to track down overseas accomplices involved in this case to the end, and strictly punish organized fraud crimes targeting ordinary citizens and investors."
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