A dentist in his 30s who committed fraud involving tens of millions of won after being unable to manage debt exceeding 1 billion won was sentenced to 8 months in prison.
On the 18th, Judge Heo Myeong-san of the Criminal Division 12 at the Seoul Northern District Court announced that A (31), who was indicted on charges of fraud and embezzlement, was sentenced to 8 months in prison.
A is accused of posting listings such as hotel accommodation voucher transfers on a secondhand trading site, receiving money from victims who contacted him, and then failing to transfer the promised vouchers, thereby obtaining a total of 35.84 million won.
On or around November 18, 2023, A posted a listing on a secondhand trading site stating "I will transfer a Signiel accommodation voucher for December 24," through which he received 14.48 million won from 21 victims. Additionally, he posted listings such as "selling Lego" on a secondhand goods trading site and defrauded a total of 21.35 million won from 22 people. Furthermore, he is also accused of embezzling funds by operating a dental clinic in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, without paying employees' national pension and employment insurance, and arbitrarily using the money for hospital operating expenses.
At the time, A was running a dental clinic but was unable to properly pay employees' salaries due to debts exceeding 1 billion won, and was unable to pay installment fees to suppliers, resulting in suspension of transactions.
The court stated, "Internet goods trading fraud disrupts the order of online commerce and fosters distrust in transactions, making the nature of the crime very serious and the culpability heavy," adding, "The defendant has a history of three prior fines for similar fraud offenses, and even while being tried for similar fraud charges, he continued the crimes for a year by leveraging his status as a dentist. Considering this, severe punishment is inevitable," explaining the sentencing rationale.
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