“We’ll make you earn 900%”: Scam ring swindles 1.9 billion won, with a “disciplinarian” behind it [Scammers]

[Financial News]“If anyone makes a mistake, I’ll smash that guy’s head first, so let’s not make any mistakes.”This was a warning posted in a Telegram chat room used by a stock investment chatroom scam ring operating from the Kingdom of Cambodia. The person threatening the members was A, not the ringleader. A reprimanded and threatened the members, taking on what was known as the “disciplinarian” role.
A claimed at trial not to have taken part in the fraud, but the court found that directing the members and supporting the scheme also constituted participation in the fraud.
The case began in May 2024 in the Kingdom of Cambodia. After receiving an offer to pay a commission for providing accounts under corporate names, ringleader E set up shell companies in South Korea and assembled a group to supply mule accounts.
The group was divided into roles, including setting up companies and opening accounts in South Korea, managing account holders locally in the Kingdom of Cambodia, and settling criminal proceeds. In Sihanoukville, members rented a three-story building to manage the account holders.
The payment for providing one mule account was about 15 million won. The group also collected separate commissions based on the amounts transferred through the accounts.
The accounts were used for stock investment chatroom scams. Members posed as investment experts, lured victims into signing up for fake investment websites, and deceived them with promises of high returns. One victim was told they could earn a 900% return on their principal, and was swindled out of 507 million won in five installments.
Over the 10 days from September 23 to October 2, 2024, the group took a total of 1.85717 billion won from 23 victims.
A joined the group in September 2024. The trigger was learning that an acquaintance was making money in a criminal organization and asking to be brought in as well.
A threatened members in Telegram chat rooms with messages such as “I’m not the type to just talk” and “Let’s not make mistakes.” The members replied, “Yes, hyung, understood.” One member who testified in court said A managed junior members and that the member had even been hit with a beer bottle.
A claimed not to have disciplined the members or participated in the fraud. A also argued that some Telegram messages had been written by another member.
However, based on chat records and testimony from accomplices, the panel found that A managed the members at the ringleader’s direction. It concluded that, even without an official management position, A had taken on a role necessary to carry out the fraud.
Legal sources said on the 8th that the criminal division of the Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced A to five years in prison on charges including joining and participating in a criminal organization and fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes. The sentence was handed down on the 18th of last month.
A had previously served a two-year-and-six-month prison sentence for fraud and other offenses, and committed this offense during the repeat-offense period.
The panel noted that the number of victims and the amount of damage were substantial, that the victims had not forgiven A, and that A had made no effort to compensate them. In determining the sentence, however, it took into account that A appeared to have cooperated with the investigation and that, given the structure of the criminal proceeds, holding A responsible for the entire amount of the losses would be somewhat harsh.
[email protected] Lee Dong-hyeok Reporter