[Exclusive] Developer under investigation for using fake landowner to commit real estate fraud

[Anchor]

A representative of a construction company is under police investigation for allegedly committing a villa sales fraud in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area.

The method involved using a fake landowner to collect deposits and then declaring bankruptcy, resulting in total damages amounting to 5 billion won.

This is a report by Choi Hye-rim.

[Report]

At a construction site in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul.

Mr. Kim Byung-ho handed over a deposit of 160 million won to landowner A to purchase a villa that was to be newly built here.

[Kim Byung-ho/Villa Sales Fraud Victim: "I thought I could buy a home in a convenient area for commuting, so I decided to contract for a villa here."]

However, construction has not even started after more than two and a half years.

The real estate developer even took out loans worth tens of billions of won using the land as collateral, but went bankrupt, leading to the land being auctioned off.

[Kim Byung-ho/Villa Sales Fraud Victim: "Seeing just barricades made me feel like the sky was falling. I had no idea how to explain this to my family; I felt completely lost."]

What happened?

The landowner A, who received the deposits from victims like Mr. Kim, was merely a 'nominal president' who lent his name to the real estate development company representative, Mr. Hong.

In reality, Mr. Hong used A to collect the deposits and loan amounts before declaring bankruptcy.

This is another construction site managed by the same developer.

Instead of villas, weeds have grown abundantly in the area where the villas were supposed to be.

[Local Resident/Voice Altered: "There’s a lot of trash, and I thought I could just endure it for six months, but it turned out like this…."]

During the police investigation, it was revealed that Mr. Hong had committed sales fraud in a total of five locations, including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, using this method.

There are over 40 victims, with the total amount of damages reaching 5 billion won.

The police have charged the real estate development company representative, Mr. Hong, with fraud and violations of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act and are currently investigating.

This is KBS News, Choi Hye-rim.