A group that joined an so-called "romance scam" criminal organization in Cambodia, gathered bank accounts under borrowed names in Korea, and laundered criminal proceeds was sentenced to prison terms.
The Daegu District Court Criminal Division 11 single-judge panel (Presiding Judge Jeon Myeong-hwan) said on Oct. 17 that it sentenced A, 28, and B, 28, to four years and six months in prison on charges including fraud.
A is accused of, from Sept. 11 to Dec. 18 last year, receiving scam instructions from an unidentified Chinese national (known as "ttageo") at a romance scam organization in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and then lending three Toss Bank accounts under others' names in Korea.
During the same period, B, near Jeju City Hall, said, "If you lend me your account, I will pay 30,000–50,000 won for every 1 million won withdrawn," and lent two Toss Bank accounts from two people.
During this period, their accomplices in Cambodia used Telegram to send messages to four victims in Korea, saying, "I am a Japanese female college student, and when I go to Korea, please guide me," to build rapport. They then said, "To have a casual meeting, you need to pay the coupon expense," and had 407 million won deposited into the borrowed-name accounts collected by A and B.
Director General Judge Jeon said the reason for the sentence was that "romance scam fraud, like voice phishing, is a planned and organized crime targeting unspecified large numbers of people, making restitution difficult and causing significant social harm, a serious crime."