South Korean authorities appear to have tightened their control over the digital asset space. As such, two high-ranking execs, named Mr.Yang and Mr. Oh of the fraudulent crypto exchange, V Global, were sentenced to eight years and three years, respectively, for their role in defrauding investors.
V Global reportedly lured investors by promising 300% returns. The exchange, which operated between July 2020 and April 2021, required new users to create accounts and deposit approximately 6 million Korean won initially with a supposedly guaranteed return of 18 million won.
V Global’s Shenanigans
During its one year of operation, V Global managed to rake in nearly 50,000 investors by promising users 12 million won in a commission similar to a pyramid scheme. Some executives were nabbed while most employees were under investigation for violating the Act on the Regulation of Similar Reception Act, fraud, and violation of the Door-to-Door Sales Act.
According to a local report, the judge from the 12th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court was quoted saying.
“The defendants only trusted the V Global management team, evaded responsibility, and once the investigation began, they destroyed evidence and interfered with the investigation. The defendants acknowledged and reflected on the facts themselves, and many of the victims reinvested the proceeds from their existing investments, so the actual amount of damage was less than the legally defrauded amount”
Victims
The estimated victim count stands somewhere near 52,000. Daegun law firm, which represents the V Global invest, rs earlier revealed that most of the victims were middle-aged or senior citizens who sought a “stable life after retirement.” At least one victim has died by suicide after being scammed.
The prosecutors had said,
“Most of the victims were middle-aged or senior citizens who dreamed of a stable life after retirement.”
Seniors over 60 lost over $1.7 billion to fraud last year, according to the FBI’s 2021 Elder Fraud Report. This marked a 74% increase from 2020. Meanwhile, this cohort of individuals lost $239 million in 2021 to investment schemes alone, comprising get-rich-quick scams involving digital assets or cryptocurrencies.
Seniors are also targeted by crypto scammers because of their less knowledge of the matter.
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