Fraudulent Deposit Scheme Involving Approximately 200 Billion KRW... 13 Billion KRW Recovered
The prosecution has fully confiscated 13 billion KRW in fines from Mr. A, who committed a Ponzi scheme fraud worth approximately 200 billion KRW targeting 4,400 people. The prosecution secured all assets acquired through the criminal proceeds, including artworks, luxury watches and bags, resort memberships, foreign cars, listed stocks, virtual assets, penthouses, commercial buildings, and officetels.
On the 26th, the Crime Proceeds Recovery Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Yu Min-jong) announced that they have fully recovered the 13 billion KRW fine imposed on the main perpetrator Mr. A, who defrauded elderly people and North Korean defectors under the pretense of cryptocurrency investments from 2019 to 2021.
According to the prosecution, Mr. A repeatedly committed Ponzi scheme fraud over a period of 10 years starting in 2015. Recently, he was caught operating a multi-level marketing company and was sentenced to 10 years in prison along with a fine of approximately 13 billion KRW.
Despite some victims losing their lives due to his crimes, Mr. A did not pay a single won of the court-ordered fine and reportedly said, "My family can live well, so I do not regret even 0.01%." Mr. A’s wife lived in a luxury apartment worth tens of billions of KRW, provided expensive private tutoring for their children, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle with luxury goods, and even prepared to flee to Canada for immigration.
Since June, the prosecution has conducted property investigations, account tracking, call record analysis, and searches of Mr. A and his associates to recover criminal proceeds. As a result, they discovered real estate assets including two high-priced apartments in Seocho-dong and a penthouse worth tens of billions of KRW in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, as well as commercial buildings and officetels.
They also confirmed that Mr. A concealed a famous resort membership in Namhae-gun, two luxury foreign cars including a Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini, listed stocks, Bitcoin, nominee bank deposits, and foreign currency under the names of nominee corporations and his wife, from whom he is in a sham divorce. The prosecution also secured numerous artworks, expensive watches, precious metals, and luxury bags hidden at his residence.
A prosecution official stated, “Recovering criminal proceeds is the ultimate realization of justice and the first step in crime prevention, so we will continue to recover every single won without exception.”
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