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- A South Korean man was convicted of defrauding a crypto investor of 2.93 billion won ($2.04 million).
- Person A posed as a wealthy investor, deceiving the victim into sending money for fake crypto investments.
- Despite partial repayments, the court ruled the victim’s losses were substantial, highlighting crypto fraud risks.
A South Korean man in his 30’s has been found guilty of embezzling 2.93 billion won ($ 2.04 million) from a cryptocurrency investor. The Changwon District Court has convicted Person A for the offence of fraud as stipulated in the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. This case also made it clear that investing involves certain dangers especially as regards cryptocurrencies and the extent to which fraudsters stage elaborate schemes.
Person A chose a persona of a rich investor to engage with other participants. He also told the victim that he would help them earn between 30- 50% profit within one year, which made the victim to invest with him. They became introduces in an online chatroom where person A lure them by making a pitch. From December 2021 to August 2023, Person A deceived the victim into sending them money 324 times under the guise of investing in cryptocurrency.
Ponzi Scheme Tactics
However, Person A never had the assets that he mentioned in his statements. He had been defrauded a lot of money in the previous crypto investments. Although he had no tangible investments, he kept on pressuring the victim to put money into an investment. He utilized the money as a Pyramid Scheme; he was paying some of the money that was invested as interest in order to get trust.
This repayment method offered the victim a sense of comfort. The victim had to think that it was an actual opportunity to make money. However, the court decided that although some of the funds were reimbursed. The harm could not be regarded as completely compensated. He pointed out that those gains were far below the total amount swindled. The victim would never be made whole in the case.
Risks of Crypto Investments
Judge Kim Seong-hwan, who presided over the case, explained that the victim’s loss was nevertheless considerable. The court further pointed out that the repayments made to return the investment were not legitimate . But a means of perpetrating the fraud. This case, therefore, proves that investors must always be careful, even in the world of cryptocurrency.
This conviction helps make a clear statement about the nature of crypto fraud in South Korea. As more people dive into the use of cryptocurrency, such instances are frequent. The authorities have been working to prevent such actions and bring the fraudsters to justice as well as shield investors. As the demand for digital coins increases, ordinary people, and legislators have to be careful of fraudulent activities.
