Stopped Only After Being Detained Despite Multiple Police Investigations
A university student in their 20s, who staged hundreds of fake incidents claiming that bugs were found in delivered food and extorted money from self-employed business owners, has been sentenced to prison in the first trial.
According to the legal community on July 13, Judge Kim Seonbeom of the Seoul Northern District Court Criminal Division 7 sentenced a university student in their 20s, referred to as A, to one year in prison and ordered them to complete 40 hours of a stalking treatment program on June 11. A was tried on charges including fraud, intimidation, and obstruction of business.
From January 2023 to December of last year, A was indicted and detained on charges of making false claims that bugs and other foreign objects were found in delivered food over a two-year period, demanding refunds, and extorting a total of 7.7 million won from 305 business owners.
When business owners refused to provide refunds, A threatened them by saying, "I will report this to the media and do everything I can," and posted false reviews to disrupt the operations of the affected restaurants.
It was also revealed that some victims underwent sanitary inspections by the local district office as a result of A's false reports of fraudulent or substandard food.
Judge Kim stated, "Despite being questioned by the police several times due to reports from some victims, A did not stop the crimes and only ceased after being detained."
However, the judge explained that consideration was given to the fact that A admitted to all the crimes, submitted multiple letters of reflection, and had no prior criminal record beyond fines.
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