Embezzled 17 Billion KRW from 140 Victims...
First Trial: 12 and 6 Years in Prison
Court: "Considerable Restoration of Damages Taken into Account"
A landlord couple who owned hundreds of officetels in Dongtan, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, and committed a lease fraud worth over 10 billion KRW were sentenced to 12 years and 6 years in prison respectively in the first trial, but received reduced sentences in the appellate court.
On the 31st, the 7th Criminal Appeals Division of Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Byung-su) overturned the original verdict and sentenced Mr. A and his husband Mr. B, who were charged with fraud, to 7 years and 3 years and 6 months in prison respectively, according to Yonhap News. The court also overturned the original sentences of a licensed real estate agent couple, Mr. and Mrs. C, who were involved in the crime and had been sentenced to 12 years and 7 years in prison in the first trial, reducing their sentences to 7 years and 4 years respectively.
Mr. and Mrs. A were prosecuted on charges of embezzling approximately 17 billion KRW in deposits from 140 people by purchasing 268 officetels in Dongtan, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, and other areas through a no-capital gap investment method from 2020 to early 2023. It was revealed that when a post titled "Landlords to be cautious of who own multiple officetels" was posted on a nearby large corporation’s bulletin board, Mr. A purchased 94 officetels under the name of her husband Mr. B to facilitate smooth leasing.
Mr. and Mrs. D were also prosecuted for receiving a total of about 4.4 billion KRW in deposits from 29 people using the same method as Mr. and Mrs. A. They were sentenced to 4 years and 2 years in prison respectively in the first trial, but their sentences were reduced to 2 years and 2 years with 3 years probation in the appellate court.
The court explained, "The defendants acknowledge the overall facts and it does not appear that they had a definite intent to embezzle the tenant deposits at the time of the crime." It added, "Out of the total 145 housing units leased to victims by Mr. and Mrs. A, 111 were sold to victims or third parties, which seems to have substantially restored the damages." The court further stated, "Mr. and Mrs. C reached settlements with 70 out of 173 victims during the appeal and made deposits of 500,000 KRW each, equivalent to brokerage fees, for the remaining victims, showing efforts to restore damages."
The prosecution and defendants including Mr. A filed appeals against the appellate court’s ruling.
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