"Silver Spoon Yeouido Stockbroker, Want to Meet?"... 40s Man Extorted 1 Billion Won from Blind Date Woman

Delivery Worker with 200 Million Won Debt
Lost Everything to Coins and Gambling

A man in his 40s who deceived a woman he met through a dating app by claiming to be a wealthy Yeouido securitiesman and extorted hundreds of millions of won from her was sentenced to a heavy prison term. He was never a securities company employee but had only worked in delivery in the past, and he was nearly 200 million won in debt. He pretended to be wealthy by saying his father was the owner of a tofu factory, but in reality, he was just a tofu factory worker.

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According to Yonhap News on the 10th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Chuncheon Branch of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Min Ji-hyun) sentenced A (41) to six years in prison on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. A was prosecuted for extorting 503.4 million won from B, whom he met through a dating app in May 2021, until January 2022.

He boasted of his wealth by saying, "I used to work at a securities firm in Yeouido but retired and now work as a freelancer who receives investment funds from investors to invest in stocks and coins," and "My father runs a large tofu factory business," and squandered the hundreds of millions of won extorted from B over 112 times on coins and gambling. Even after breaking up with B in February 2022, he extorted another 520 million won from another woman, C, using the same method.

Ultimately, he was sentenced to four years and three years in prison respectively in the first trial for the fraud committed against B and C. The Wonju Branch of the Chuncheon District Court, which handled the first trial, criticized, "Victim B used money she had saved over 15 years of working or borrowed from acquaintances and family to prepare the money demanded by the defendant, resulting in significant debt," and added, "It appears that the victim devoted sincerity and affection to the defendant, whom she met through the dating app, but since all of that turned out to be the result of fraudulent acts, the mental suffering caused by the betrayal, loss of confidence, and other emotional damages are immeasurable in monetary terms," and imposed a prison sentence.

The appellate court, which reviewed both of A’s fraud cases together, pointed out, "He exploited personal trust relationships with the victims to extort more than 1 billion won, which is a very serious offense," but considering that A partially repaid the victims during the crime, it slightly reduced the sentence from a total of seven years to six years in prison.