Posing as a Wealthy Man and Promising Marriage... Man Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Defrauding Over 1.2 Billion Won

A Married Man with Children Working as a Daily Construction Laborer

Photo by Daejeon District Court Exterior

A man in his 40s who posed as a wealthy individual and deceived a woman into believing he would marry her, ultimately obtaining over 1.2 billion won, has been sentenced to prison despite being married with children.

The 12th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Byungman, announced on October 8 that it had sentenced Mr. A (48), who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud), to six years in prison.

Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of introducing himself as a prominent businessman to Ms. B, whom he met through a dating application, gaining her trust, and then deceiving her into believing they would get married. From 2021 to 2024, he obtained approximately 850 million won from her.

He was also accused of using Ms. B’s credit card for purchases totaling about 409 million won.

Mr. A deceived the victim by saying, “My money is tied up in the company, but I will repay you once the company’s work is finished,” and “Since we are going to get married, please lend me your credit card.” In reality, he was a daily construction worker and a married man with children.

The court stated, “Although the defendant has confessed to the crime and shown remorse, the amount gained is about 1.2 billion won, making the scale of the crime very large and the duration lengthy. The defendant actively deceived the victim, there has been no restitution, he has prior convictions for similar offenses, and some of those offenses were committed using similar methods, indicating a high risk of reoffending. These factors were all taken into consideration.”