| Man Who Committed Fraud Through a Second-Hand Trading App Sentenced to Imprisonment |

A man who committed fraud through a second-hand trading platform and created multiple victims has been sentenced to prison.

On the 13th, the Jeju District Court's 4th Criminal Division (Chief Judge Jeon Seong-jun) held the sentencing hearing for Mr. A (in his 30s), who was arrested and indicted on fraud charges, and sentenced him to five years in prison.

According to the ruling, Mr. A had been active as a seller for a large-scale product fraud organization operating from Vietnam since September 2023.

On October 21, 2023, he deceived a victim into believing he was selling tickets for the 'League of Legends (LoL) World Championship Final' and received a total of 420,000 KRW, among others, accumulating a total of 354 million KRW through 575 fraudulent transactions.

Subsequently, he reportedly conspired with Ms. B (in her 20s), Mr. C (in his 30s), and Mr. D (in his 30s) to commit further offenses.

From November of last year, for about three months, they deceived victims by claiming to sell 'mobile farmhouses' through the second-hand trading app 'Danggeun Market,' ultimately defrauding a total of 21.6 million KRW.

They targeted rural areas where high school alumni and acquaintances were not familiar with second-hand transactions. Additionally, they lured victims by pretending to sell high-priced items such as mobile farmhouses, containers, and cranes.

Notably, they disguised themselves as 'pastors,' 'nuns,' and other religious figures to gain the trust of middle-aged and older victims in order to commit their crimes.

The court sentenced Mr. B, who committed the offense during the probation period, to one year in prison, while co-conspirators Mr. C and Mr. D received sentences of one year in prison with a three-year probation period each.

The court stated, "The offenses committed by B, C, and D undermine the trust of the community and are severe due to the organized nature of the crimes against an unspecified number of victims." However, it also noted that it considered the fact that they had reached agreements with the victims.

Furthermore, it mentioned, "Mr. A committed his crimes in an organized manner with several co-conspirators, and considering the large amount of damage, as well as the fact that some of the crimes were carried out in a leading and planned manner, we determined the sentence accordingly."

Image source: Reference photos to aid understanding of the article / gettyimagesbank