Changwon District Court Sentences Main Offender to 1 Year and 6 Months in Prison
Accomplice Who Knowingly Aided the Crime Receives 10 Months in Prison
A man in his 60s who deceived victims by presenting fake credit card sales slips and borrowing money with a promise to repay the card payments was sentenced to prison for embezzling several hundred million won.
The Changwon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Kim Seonghwan) sentenced Mr. A, in his 60s, to 1 year and 6 months in prison on the 29th, according to Yonhap News, on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud). The court also sentenced Mr. B, in his 50s, who knowingly aided Mr. A’s crime, to 10 months in prison on charges of aiding fraud under the same law.
Mr. A was prosecuted on charges of receiving 715 million won by deceiving victims 48 times from May to June 2018 at an office in Changwon, Gyeongnam Province. He showed fake credit card sales slips and said, "If you lend me money after deducting the advance interest, I will soon receive the card payment and repay you." However, the place where the card sales were approved was merely a formal store that was not actually operating. In this process, Mr. A used a credit card borrowed by his acquaintance Mr. C, who intended to start a cosmetics business, to create fake sales slips.
Mr. C planned the crime with Mr. A to raise business funds, and Mr. A agreed to receive 3% of the loan amount from Mr. C. Mr. B joined the crime after accepting Mr. C’s offer of a monthly salary of 3 million won for assisting. Mr. B knowingly aided the fraud by repeatedly processing credit card payments and cancellations despite being aware of Mr. A’s crime.
They continued the crime by approving credit card sales and then canceling them all within about one minute to create fake sales slips.
Mr. A deceived victims by showing fake credit card sales slips and saying, "There is someone who wants to borrow money, and if you lend money after deducting 7% advance interest, I will repay it as soon as the card payment comes in."
The court pointed out, "They deceived victims with non-existent credit card payment claims, and the actual damage that victims have not been compensated for amounts to about 175 million won." Regarding the sentencing, the court explained, "Nevertheless, the defendants have made no particular effort to recover the damages, and especially considering that Mr. A committed the crime again despite having been punished twice before for fraud."
The trial of accomplice Mr. C, who is also charged with the same offense as Mr. A, is ongoing as it has been consolidated with other cases.
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