Hearts2Hearts Tickets for Sale, Then the Seller Took the Money and Ran... Remittance Mule Also Found Guilty in 19.91 Million Won Scam [Scammers]

[Financial News]“Could this be one of those loan scams?”A, who provided an account after being told that a transaction history would be built up to help secure a loan, suspected possible criminal involvement but still followed instructions to transfer money. The funds deposited into the account were proceeds from a scam involving concert tickets for girl group Hearts2Hearts. A claimed to have been simply trying to get a loan, but the court found intent to aid fraud based on A’s prior history of being investigated in a similar case and messages sent at the time of the crime.
Legal sources said on the 14th that Sim Dong-young, a single judge in the criminal division of the Seoul Eastern District Court, sentenced A, who had been indicted on a charge of aiding fraud, to one year in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered A to perform 120 hours of community service on the 4th.
The case began last December when a post offering Hearts2Hearts concert tickets for sale appeared on X, a social networking service. An unidentified scammer deceived prospective buyers despite having no intention of selling actual tickets, collecting a total of 19,911,000 won from 11 victims.
The victim funds were deposited into a bank account in A’s name. A had earlier provided the account after being offered help getting a loan by building up a transaction history. Then, on December 17 last year, A transferred the victim funds deposited into the account to another account designated by the scammer.
During the trial, A claimed to have thought they were only building up the transaction history required for a loan and had no intention of participating in the fraud.
However, the court focused on A’s history of being investigated for a similar scheme in the past. A had previously provided an account to receive fraud proceeds under the pretext of getting a loan and was given a deferred prosecution decision. It emerged that during that investigation, A admitted to participating in a voice-phishing scheme after being promised a commission.
A claimed to have made a false statement out of fear after being arrested at the time, but the court rejected the claim. The court found that even if the statement was untrue, A would have realized during the investigation that their actions could be used for voice phishing.
Messages exchanged at the time of the crime also formed part of the basis for the guilty verdict.
Investigators found that, while receiving instructions to transfer money, A sent messages including, “Could this be one of those loan scams?”, “If this is an improper loan, I think it would be better if I didn’t do it,” “If I get into trouble, my kids will be left alone,” and “It’ll be a big problem if I end up at the police station.”
Based on these circumstances, the court found that A had at least recognized or foreseen the possibility that their actions were helping the fraud scheme.
However, the fact that A recognized the illegality and stopped the transfer on the day of the crime was considered a mitigating circumstance. The court also took into account that A later returned some of the victim funds and reached a settlement with one victim. In sentencing, the court also considered that A had only played a simple money-transfer role and gained almost nothing from the crime, and was raising two minor children alone.
Meanwhile, compensation orders sought by two victims were dismissed. The court explained that the scope of liability was unclear, as A’s liability could be limited depending on the circumstances and extent of A’s involvement.
[email protected] Lee Dong-hyeok Reporter