Couple Falsely Report "Maserati and Porsche Theft" to Collect 400 Million Won in Insurance Money

Lied About Theft After Hiding Imported Car
Also Received 100 Million Won Insurance Payout After Intentional Accident

A couple who falsely reported that their luxury foreign cars, including Maserati and Porsche, were stolen to claim insurance money of 450 million won has been handed over to the prosecution.

On the 13th, Yonhap News reported that the Busanjin Police Station in Busan sent a man in his 50s, Mr. A, and a man in his 30s, Mr. B, to prosecution without detention on charges of violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud and obstruction of official duties by deception. The couple, who are in a romantic relationship, are accused of falsely reporting the theft of two luxury foreign cars they owned and deliberately causing accidents to embezzle a total of about 450 million won in insurance money.

The Maserati vehicle used by Mr. A in the crime. Provided by Busanjin Police Station, Busan, Yonhap News Agency

In 2019, Mr. A conspired with Mr. B to hide a Maserati vehicle near Jeju Airport in a secluded area and reported it stolen. Afterwards, he attached license plates from another vehicle to the Maserati and transported it from Jeju Island to Busan. Mr. A claimed insurance for the theft and received about 140 million won. Additionally, in February last year, he reported a Porsche vehicle stolen in the same manner in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, and received about 200 million won in insurance money.

A police official told Yonhap News, "Previously, they also reported the loss of license plates from another vehicle, but they attached these license plates, which had been canceled due to the report, to the falsely reported stolen Maserati and Porsche vehicles and drove them around."

In October, they also deliberately caused an accident. At that time, Mr. A and Mr. B intentionally collided another Maserati vehicle with a curb on a one-way four-lane road in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, and received an additional insurance payout of about 110 million won. The police began a full investigation after receiving a report that their illegally parked vehicles were unregistered. Initially denying the crime, Mr. A eventually confessed after the police confronted him with forensic results from his mobile phone and other evidence.

According to the 2022 Police Statistical Yearbook, there were 2,959 cases of violations of the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, with 2,658 arrests made. The arrest rate compared to occurrences was 89.8%, with 8,041 individuals apprehended. As insurance fraud has been rampant, last month the Financial Supervisory Service and the insurance sector conducted investigations on about 400 people since the enforcement of the 'Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud' in August, and requested investigations for about 380 individuals deemed suspicious.

The suspects posted titles such as "Looking for attackers in OO (region name)" on internet cafes to recruit conspirators for staged accidents. Later, through messengers, they facilitated and enticed car insurance fraud with messages like "The insurance company we recently worked with is tough, which insurance company is it?", "Can we hit the front instead of the rear?", and "All three jobs so far were cleanly finished in one day and the money was deposited."

With the amendment of the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, solicitation, inducement, encouragement, and advertisement of insurance fraud are prohibited, and violators may face imprisonment of up to 10 years or fines up to 50 million won. The Financial Supervisory Service reported that before the enforcement of the special law, hundreds of advertisement posts recruiting participants for insurance fraud were posted monthly, but after the law's enforcement, the number has decreased to fewer than 10 posts per month.