An accountant accused of embezzling 700 million won while working as a funds manager at her brother-in-law's company was sentenced to prison.
According to legal sources on the 15th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Bucheon Branch of the Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Yeo Hyun-joo) said on the 15th it sentenced A, in her 40s, to five years in prison on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
A, who previously worked as an accounting clerk at a manufacturing company in Gimpo, was indicted on charges of siphoning off a total of about 730 million won in 553 transactions from a corporate account from Jan. 2014 to Dec. 2020.
A was hired at the end of 2013 as an accounting clerk at a company where her brother-in-law B served as CEO and was found to have diverted funds using a public certificate and one-time password (OTP) linked to the corporate account.
A transferred company funds to her and her family's accounts while writing remittance memos to make it look like money was sent to a transaction partner, and it was found that the diverted money was used for children's education expenses, family insurance premiums, and shopping.
B is said to have learned of his sister-in-law's crime during a review after receiving a request from the Gimpo Tax Office at the end of 2021 to submit an explanation for suspected omission of income.
B provided A with financial help several times, but during the trial, A responded with excuses such as, "Didn't the brother-in-law also misuse company funds?" and reportedly did not return the money.
The court said, "The defendant has consistently shifted responsibility with excuses that are hard to accept even in court," adding, "There is a need for severe punishment commensurate with the culpability," explaining the sentencing reasons.