"To Cover Cryptocurrency Losses"… 20s Woman Sentenced to Imprisonment for Spending ₩200 Million with 'Mom Card'

A woman in her 20s received a suspended prison sentence for taking out loans and issuing a credit card in her mother’s name without permission, spending approximately ₩200,000,000 in an attempt to recover losses from cryptocurrency (virtual asset) investments.

According to industry sources on the 28th (Korean time), the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Kim Seong-eun) on the 11th sentenced Ms. Kim (26), who had been indicted on charges including fraud, forgery of electronic records, and use of forged electronic records, to one year in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered 80 hours of community service.

The court explained regarding its ruling, "Although it was a mother-daughter relationship, the fact that she systematically and repeatedly impersonated identities and created electronic records at multiple financial institutions means the severity of the crime is not minor."

Investigation revealed that around February 2023, Ms. Kim opened a bank account in her mother’s name, took out a ₩38,000,000 loan, accessed several card company apps, and issued credit cards in her mother’s name, using a total amount of about ₩200,000,000. With the cards, she spent ₩67,000,000 on expensive clothing, electronics, and luxury bags via online shopping malls, and secured funds by repeatedly withdrawing millions of won through card company cash advances.

Additionally, it was found that Ms. Kim swindled around ₩30,000,000 from her ex-boyfriend.

During the trial, Ms. Kim claimed, "The financial transactions were a temporary measure to recover losses from coin investments," and "I intended to repay as soon as profits were made." Regarding the ₩30,000,000 she received from her ex-boyfriend, she argued, "It was a personal favor—there was no intent to defraud."