Scammer who received $1.6M from acquaintances given 6-year sentence, files appeal
Published: 09 Nov. 2025, 14:46
Updated: 09 Nov. 2025, 18:28
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[KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]
A woman in her 70s who posed for years as an ultra-wealthy investor and scammed acquaintances out of more than 2.3 billion won ($1.6 million) was sentenced to six years in prison.
According to a report by News1 on Sunday, the Wonju Branch of the Chuncheon District Court on Oct. 30 sentenced the woman, who was indicted and detained on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes among other offenses.
Between May 2020 and August 2024, the woman pretended to have assets worth trillions of won, telling acquaintances and individuals introduced to her that she needed money for “money laundering” — a claim she used to solicit over 2.3 billion won.
Prosecutors said the woman, who had no significant income or assets, spent the funds on casinos and personal living expenses while deceiving others into believing she possessed trillions of won. She scammed three people, receiving between about 300 million won and 1.5 billion won from each.
One acquaintance was told she had assets worth 23 trillion won, including 5 to 6 trillion won held in a bank. She claimed she needed to transport the money in special vehicles and requested funds for labor and lodging costs. “I think of you as my own son. Once I retrieve the money, I will give you a 79 percent stake,” she told the person over several years while receiving roughly 1.5 billion won.
Another acquaintance who believed she was wealthy was told she had 12 trillion won in cash being moved from Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, to Chungju, North Chungcheong, and needed security funds. Through this person, she was introduced to a third victim, from whom she received about 500 million won over the course of a year.
She also defrauded the second acquaintance out of about 300 million won over several years, promising to make a large investment in their company if they covered expenses for supposed money laundering.
“The nature of the crime is extremely serious given the amount involved, and the victims are calling for severe punishment,” the court said in its ruling. “However, the actual damages appear to be less than the total amount taken, as the defendant seems to have repaid some of the funds. Several factors were taken into account in sentencing.”
The defendant has filed an appeal.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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