Three given suspended prison terms for pocketing hundreds of millions of won in roughly 2-trillion-won virtual asset scam

Three accomplices who participated in a virtual asset (cryptocurrency) scam and pocketed several hundred million won in illicit profits were given suspended prison sentences.

On the 15th (Korea time), according to industry sources, the Cheonan branch of the Daejeon District Court, Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Jeon Kyung-ho) sentenced A (61, female) and two others, who were indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud), to three years in prison, suspended for five years.

The court also ordered the recovery of 66,000,000 won from A, 426,000,000 won from B (63, female), and 259,000,000 won from C (57, female).

They were involved in the 'V Global' virtual asset investment scam that caused damage on the order of 2 trillion won. They are accused of swindling about 50,000 people out of 2.2 trillion won from July 2020 to April 2021.

V Global was a virtual asset scam organization operating in a multi-level marketing format, and they were found to have directed the crimes from the top ranks.

The court said, "They caused an astronomical amount of damage by exploiting social interest in virtual assets," and added, "More than 50,000 victims are still living in economic and mental suffering, and the social damage is very large, so there is a need for strict punishment."

The representative of V Global, who led the crimes, had a 25-year prison sentence confirmed in 2023.