Two scammers in their 20s and 30s have been apprehended by South Korean authorities for defrauding a senior citizen out of 5.5 billion South Korean won, equivalent to $4.1 million, through false promises of lucrative cryptocurrency investments. The Haeundae Police Station in Busan successfully detained the culprits after they conned the victim in multiple transactions. As per a local report, the fraudsters enticed the senior citizen with the prospect of substantial returns on crypto investments spanning from September to December 2022. The criminals assured a monthly profit of 70% on an investment of 1 billion won. The police quoted the scammers as follows:
“The victim sent a total of 5.5 billion won in six separate transactions to the fraudsters, who then fabricated balance certificates as evidence of the investments.”
Throughout the scam, the victim was presented with counterfeit balance sheets for crypto investments and real estate agreements. The phony balance sheet displayed a value of 20 billion won in cryptocurrencies, despite none of the victim’s funds reaching the crypto trading account. While the police acted swiftly in apprehending the fraudsters, information regarding the recovery of the stolen funds has not been disclosed publicly.
In other news, Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs and a prominent figure in the South Korean crypto industry, was reportedly released from prison in Montenegro on March 23. This release comes amidst extradition requests from both the United States and South Korea. Kwon is currently facing legal charges relating to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in 2022. Prison director Darko Vukcevic confirmed the news over the phone, stating:
“The decision to release Kwon was reportedly made by the Council of the Supreme Court, which is currently reviewing a decision regarding his potential extradition to South Korea.”
Additionally, it is important to be cautious of the risks involved when investing in Solana memecoins.