Man in His 20s Uses AI Forgery to Fool Judge, Turning 23 Won into 900 Million Won ‘on Paper’

[Financial News] A man in his 20s used artificial intelligence (AI) to make a bank account with a balance of just 23 won appear to hold 900 million won, allowing him to avoid being taken into custody. He was later caught through a supplementary investigation conducted directly by prosecutors.
According to the legal community on the 11th, Criminal Division 3 of the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office Dongbu Branch, headed by Senior Prosecutor Kim Geon, indicted a 27-year-old man identified as A on December 6 and placed him under detention. He has been charged with fraud, forgery of private documents, and using forged documents.
From August to October last year, A is accused of using AI to create fake images, including a fabricated Korean Medical Licensing Examination certificate and falsified records of cryptocurrency holdings, in order to lure victims into investing. He allegedly defrauded them of about 320 million won. He is also charged with submitting an AI-forged balance certificate claiming he had 900 million won in his account during a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review hearing) on the fraud charges.
The court is said to have rejected the initial request for a detention warrant, taking into account A’s promise to repay the full amount of the damage. However, after confirming that A had not returned any money to the victims even about a month after the warrant was denied, the prosecutor in charge launched a supplementary investigation on their own initiative.
Prosecutors focused on the fact that A had previously used AI to forge materials such as a Korean Medical Licensing Examination certificate, and they began to question whether the balance certificate was genuine.
Through fact-checking and tracing the bank account, prosecutors found that the balance certificate had also been forged. They discovered that the actual balance in the account was only 23 won.
A is also reported to have presented the same type of forged balance certificate not only to the presiding judge and prosecutor, but to the victims as well.
Prosecutors subsequently obtained a new detention warrant and, after further investigation, indicted A while keeping him in custody.
A prosecution official stated, "The defendant submitted highly sophisticated fake AI-generated images that could not be distinguished with the naked eye, deceiving even the judge." The official added, "Through the prosecutor’s supplementary investigation, we corrected the court’s mistaken decision and uncovered additional offenses."

kyu0705@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Dong-gyu Reporter