"Lend me 20 million to buy a 12 billion building" The fate of an 'unemployed' old man who deceived an academy director

[Financial News] A man in his 70s who borrowed money from an academy director under the pretext of purchasing a building worth 12 billion won and did not repay it was sentenced to imprisonment.
According to the legal community on the 4th, the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Division 8 (Judge Lee Junseok) sentenced Mr. Kim (75), who was indicted on fraud charges, to four months in prison on the 25th.
In December 2018, Mr. Kim deceived victim Mr. A, who runs an academy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, by saying, "I am trying to purchase a local building for 12 billion won, but I am short on the balance," and "If you lend me 20 million won, I will repay you 25 million won in three days by adding 5 million won," and took 13.55 million won (after deducting 6.45 million won previously borrowed from the victim) from him.
Investigations revealed that Mr. Kim intended to use the money borrowed from Mr. A for purposes other than what he had told Mr. A, and he had no intention or ability to repay the money due to lack of assets or income and significant debt.
In fact, Mr. Kim received Mr. A's money into an account in his daughter's name, immediately withdrew it in cash, and used it for other investment repayments. Mr. Kim has not repaid the full amount of damages even six years after the crime.
Mr. Kim's side argued, "The borrowed money was actually paid to Mr. B for the building purchase, and there was no intention of fraud," but the court did not accept this, stating, "Mr. B, whom the defendant claims to have given the money to, testified that he did not receive the money, and there is no evidence to support the use or repayment intention of the damages, nor any actual building purchase or business operation materials."
The court further explained the sentencing reasons, saying, "The defendant has not made any substantial efforts to recover the damages despite defrauding the victim of a large amount, and is denying the crime while shifting responsibility to a third party, making the guilt heavy and imprisonment inevitable." 


yesji@fnnews.com Kim Yeji Reporter