Group lived a life of luxury through virtual asset fraud; stacks of cash and high-priced items seized

[Anchor]

A group that swindled nearly 10 billion won by claiming that investments in virtual assets could yield over 300% returns has been handed over to the prosecution.

Their house looked like a department store, and there was over 2 billion won in cash.

Reporter Choo Jae-hoon has the details.

[Report]

Boxes of high-priced imported goods stacked on top of each other.

The glass display case is filled with expensive liquor and wine bottles.

There are bundles of 50,000 won bills totaling over 2.6 billion won.

These are all items seized by the police from the home of Mr. A, a co-representative of a pseudo-investment advisory firm.

Mr. A and others promoted that they could buy coins listed on overseas exchanges at a low price and achieve over 300% returns.

From October 2022, they received 9.8 billion won in investments from 168 people, deceiving investors by claiming that the coins could not be resold for nine months.

They even created fake electronic wallets to manipulate the number of coins held, the non-sale period, and purchase history to avoid suspicion.

The price of the coins, which peaked at over 1,000 won, plummeted to as low as 0.4 won nine months later due to price manipulation by Mr. A and others.

[Victim/voice altered: "They kept saying, 'We can't go with our plan because we don't have money.'"]

With the money they swindled, they purchased expensive bags, watches, and imported cars.

They operated offices in seven locations in the metropolitan area and even established ghost companies for revenue processing.

The police have arrested Mr. A and two others on charges of fraud and have sent 101 accomplices to the prosecution without detention.

Additionally, they have seized or preserved criminal proceeds amounting to 5.6 billion won.

Another group that swindled 10.1 billion won by claiming they could achieve high returns through overseas futures investments has also been caught by the police.

They seized over 500 million won in cash, including 50,000 won bills, and it was revealed that they purchased real estate and expensive vehicles with the criminal proceeds.

The police have arrested 17 individuals, including the ringleader, and sent 92 accomplices to the prosecution without detention.

This is KBS News, Choo Jae-hoon.