"Work Under the Chairman and Make a Fortune": Man Gets Prison Term for Extorting 900 Million Won Playing Two Roles with Fictional Character

A man in his 30s who swindled more than 900 million won from an acquaintance and the acquaintance's mother by creating a fictional character has been sentenced to prison.

Changwon District Court Criminal Division 4 announced today (October 19) that it has sentenced a man in his 30s, identified as A, to four years in prison on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes.

A was put on trial for defrauding an acquaintance, B, and B's mother of a total of 903.83 million won between October 2023 and December of last year by invoking the name of the chairman of an equipment company.

It was revealed that the equipment company chairman used in the crime does not actually exist.

A deceived B by mentioning the fabricated chairman and saying, "If you work under the chairman, you can make a lot of money." A then extorted money by claiming, "The chairman is undertaking a major construction project, so please pay the association registration fees, membership dues, and site deposit on his behalf."

Furthermore, A approached B's mother by pretending to be the fictional equipment company chairman and extorted additional money by lying, "If you give me money, I will recover the money that A failed to pay you."

The court explained the reasoning behind the sentencing by comprehensively considering factors such as the fact that the amount swindled from the mother and son exceeded 900 million won, that most of it was spent on personal expenses like living costs and entertainment, and that the victims are suffering from extreme distress and petitioning for a severe punishment.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.