Two people in their 20s who recruited and supplied bank accounts to an investment fraud ring have been sentenced to prison.
On the 15th, legal sources said Judge Heo Seong-min of Busan District Court’s Criminal Division 10 sentenced one defendant to 2 years and 6 months in prison for violating the Electronic Financial Transactions Act and aiding quasi-collective fundraising. B was given a 1 year and 2 month prison term that was suspended for two years, along with an order to complete 160 hours of community service.
Prosecutors say A agreed to provide accounts under other people’s names to the investment-scam organization for 2,500,000 KRW (approximately 1,875 USD) per account. Between September 2024 and the following five months, A provided five bank accounts, including one belonging to B.
A recruited account holders by offering them 1,000,000 KRW (approximately 750 USD) per month in exchange for access to their mobile banking apps and passwords. The accounts were used in the fraud, and investigators confirmed 13 victims incurred combined losses of 150,000,000 KRW (approximately 112,500 USD).
The group ran false advertisements on online platforms and social media targeting unspecified members of the public. When respondents contacted them, the group falsely claimed they were generating risk-free returns through gold investments and persuaded victims to transfer funds into accounts controlled by the organization.
They also directed victims to fake websites that fabricated returns to make it appear profits had been generated, then told victims they needed to deposit additional funds to withdraw—money the group then appropriated.
After A promised to pay 1,000,000 KRW (approximately 750 USD), B handed over an account and arranged for one of A’s arrested accomplices to speak on speakerphone during a visitation so B could relay messages. Through those calls, the accomplice warned A that police were investigating him, prompting A to flee. Because the visitation room’s glass partition muffled the conversation, B repeated the content of the call aloud so A would hear it.
B also provided a villa in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, as a hideout for A.
The court said, “The defendants recruited and provided accounts that facilitated the investment fraud, so their culpability is serious,” but noted as a sentencing consideration that their conduct amounted to aiding and abetting rather than direct commission of the fraud.
