Cryptocurrency fraudster fled overseas with 320 billion won turns out to be YouTuber with 600,000 subscribers

[Anchor]

An organization that embezzled over 300 billion won through virtual asset investment fraud has been caught by the police.

There are more than 10,000 victims, and it has been revealed that an economic YouTuber with over 600,000 subscribers led the crime.

Reporter Lee Won-hee has the details.

[Report]

An investment YouTuber, Mr. A, has over 600,000 subscribers.

[Mr. A/voice altered: "We can identify companies that can yield more than double the profits even in the current market."]

Mr. A, who operated an investment company, sought an absurd escape route when members who suffered losses demanded refunds.

He orchestrated a large-scale coin investment fraud.

[Call between organization member and victim/voice altered: "It's strictly confidential. If you buy about 30 million won worth of (coins), you will definitely make about 900 million won in profit."]

Mr. A's organization recommended and sold 28 types of coins to victims in this manner, but they were worthless 'junk coins'.

Typically, virtual assets are listed on overseas exchanges after undergoing a review, but they created fake corporations and listed cryptocurrencies through brokers.

The value of the junk coins, which had been artificially inflated, plummeted, resulting in over 10,000 people suffering losses of about 200 billion won.

Moreover, they approached victims claiming, "We will compensate for your losses," and sold them more coins, leading to secondary fraud losses exceeding 100 billion won.

They even took out loans in the names of victims to embezzle money.

[Victim/60s/voice altered: "They borrowed about 200 million won from ○○ Bank using my personal information. In the end, I'm repaying it by mortgaging my house."]

The police have arrested over 200 people on fraud charges, including the mastermind Mr. A, who fled to Australia and was apprehended last May, and have sent 12 of them to prosecution.

[Choi Sung-il/Virtual Asset Dedicated Team Leader, Anti-Corruption Economic Crime Investigation Team 3, Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police: "That person (the mastermind) had already exchanged about 10 billion won into Tether coins and entered, so it was quite difficult for us to track and catch him."]

The police have also applied for pre-indictment confiscation and recovery of 47.8 billion won, which is part of the criminal proceeds.

This is KBS News, Lee Won-hee.