A former head of a company indicted for duping investors with a promise of 2% revenue every month from investing in a solar power firm and swindling about 350 billion won from more than 5,000 people received a final sentence of 16 years in prison. It matches the rulings in the first and second trials.
The Supreme Court's second division (presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) said on 5th that it sentenced Seo, a former head of Midas Partners indicted on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to 16 years in prison and a forfeiture of 98.4 billion won on 4th, the same as the lower court. The chief financial officer, Hwang, who was tried alongside Seo, also received the same seven-year prison sentence as in the lower court.
Seo and others were indicted on charges of operating 12 corporate entities of the financial consulting firm "Midas Partners" nationwide and swindling 350 billion won in investment funds from more than 5,200 people between September 2018 and June 2021.
Investigators found that Seo held investor briefings across the country and promoted that "if you invest in solar power corporations and others, the principal is guaranteed and 2–4% interest is paid every month," drawing in investors. It was also reported that they used a rollover scheme, paying interest to existing members with funds collected from new members.
In Nov. last year, the court of first instance found most of the charges against them guilty and sentenced Seo to 16 years in prison. The court said, "They lured victims and deceived an unspecified number of people with a 'rollover' scheme," and "there are also indications that they purchased expensive imported cars and luxury goods and concealed criminal proceeds." Seo and others appealed the ruling, but it was dismissed. The Supreme Court also found no fault with the lower courts' judgments.