"Want to Meet a 'Sponsored Woman'?" Man Swindles Men Out of 90 Million Won with Fake Ads

Posed as Real Women to Extract Money
Court: "Settlements Reached with All Victims," Suspended Prison Sentence

Photo to help readers understand the article. Pixabay

A man who advertised that he would arrange so-called "sponsorship" meetings in exchange for a fixed sum of money and then obtained nearly 90 million won has been given a suspended prison sentence.

According to the legal community on February 17, Judge Park Chanbeom of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 15 (single-judge panel) sentenced Mr. A, who was put on trial on fraud charges, to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years. The court also ordered probation and 80 hours of community service.

Mr. A was charged with obtaining money by fraud after posting an advertisement on Twitter (now X) in November 2023 claiming that he would arrange sponsored women. Even though there were no women to introduce, he obtained photos of attractive women via Instagram and other platforms and posted false advertisements.

Using his Twitter account, Mr. A posted an advertisement stating, "Sponsorship arrangement, monthly pay starting at 10 million won, average over 20 million won." His intention was to deceive men who contacted him after seeing the ad into believing he would introduce them to women.

Victim B, who contacted him after seeing the advertisement, was provided with information on age, appearance, personality, and sponsorship amount along with photos of the women. Mr. A then lied, saying, "You must pay a deposit to meet the woman," and B, believing this, transferred cryptocurrency using an electronic wallet. The cryptocurrency B sent was worth about 44 million won.

To deceive B, Mr. A even pretended to be an actual woman. He told B, "A loan shark is keeping watch, so I can't meet you, but I can if the money issue is resolved." Fooled by this, B transferred about 45 million won to Mr. A.

The court stated, "In light of the circumstances and methods of the crime, the nature of the offense is poor, and the amount of damage suffered by B is not small, and full restitution has not been made," but added, "However, he has admitted to the crime, this is his first offense, and he has reached settlements with all the victims."