Cult leaders who created an illegal multi-level marketing organization under the pretense of promising eternal life and defrauded hundreds of followers out of billions of won have received heavy sentences.
On October 16, at the sentencing hearing held at the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 14 under Judge Kim Gilho, prosecutors requested that the court sentence co-leaders A and B, who were indicted on charges including fraud, to seven years and nine years in prison, respectively.
The prosecution explained the reason for its sentencing request by stating, "A, together with B, acted as a co-leader and obtained significant criminal proceeds through the multi-level organization, while B was responsible for the main business ideas and direction."
According to the prosecution, from 2016 until around March of this year, they recruited followers as salespeople for an unregistered multi-level marketing company and defrauded approximately 3.1 billion won from around 500 of them under the pretense of agency membership fees and other charges.
Since around 2013, A and others have been conducting missionary activities targeting the elderly and the poor in areas such as Seoul and Incheon, claiming that each of them is the living Trinity-'Heavenly Father,' 'Heavenly Mother,' and 'God's firstborn son,' the main figures of all world religions. They lured followers by promising eternal life and resurrection and by claiming that they would make them wealthy through the 'God's Enterprise,' ultimately attracting about 1,800 followers, according to the investigation.
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