South Korean prosecutors have indicted a man they think masterminded a $3.4 million crypto fraud and underwent plastic surgery to avoid arrest.
Police said that the man, surnamed Kim and aged in his forties, was “arrested after 10 months on the run.”
South Korean Prosecutors: Suspect Spent $15,700 on Plastic Surgery
Per Newsis, officers think Kim “defrauded 158 victims” out of a combined $3.4 million by promising them “high returns if they invested in a crypto mining business.”
Police also handed over five suspected accomplices, including “the head of a law firm” to the prosecution service.
Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Financial Crimes Investigation Unit issued an arrest warrant for Kim and charged eight other “recruiters” last year.
However, Kim managed to escape arrest and spent 10 months on the run, trying to evade detectives by reportedly changing his appearance.
Officers said he had “defrauded victims” by promising to pay them 18% “profits” on their stakes every month.
Instead, police said, Kim “embezzled” his investors’ funds. Officers said they confiscated almost $75,000 worth of cash and froze a further $972,000.
Officers think Kim launched his operation in November 2021, and succeeded in gathering investors up until June 2022.
However, after investors claimed they had not been paid as promised, police launched a probe.
They eventually applied for an arrest warrant for Kim in September 2023. However, he failed to show up at a court hearing on September 19, 2023.
Officers spent almost a year trying to track him down, using CCTV footage, phone and app records, and Internet search records.
Accomplices ‘Converted Crypto to Cash to Help Fraudster Escape’
A spokesperson said undercover detectives eventually managed to locate his “hideout” – an apartment in Guri, Gyeonggi Province – on August 25.
Officers explained that Kim had “evaded investigators” by “frequently moving house” and “using a fake phone and fake bank account while on the run.”
They said that Kim also spent about $15,700 on “four surgeries at a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam District, Seoul.”
Gangnam is home not only to most of South Korea’s biggest tech and crypto exchanges, but also to many of the nation’s most famous cosmetic surgery clinics.
Man ‘Had Nose Reconstruction and Lipo’ to Evade Police
Officers explained that Kim underwent “double eyelid surgery, nose surgery, liposuction, and facial contouring surgery,” to “prevent the investigators from recognizing his appearance.”
Investigators explained that they also discovered Kim had paid for a custom-fit wig to wear in public to further disguise his appearance.
South Korean prosecutors said the law firm manager and Kim’s girlfriend “converted virtual assets obtained from criminal proceeds into cash” on Kim’s behalf.
Korea sees record high in inbound medical touristshttps://t.co/jxYROeFvKc
— The Korea Times (@koreatimescokr) April 29, 2024
They said the duo and others provided the cash raised from these crypto sales to Kim “as escape funds.”
They also alleged that the pair had helped Kim find appropriate plastic surgery clinics and “a wig-making company.”
Suspected Accomplice Poses No Flight Risk, Judge Rules
Investigators said the legal firm manager helped Kim escape “in exchange for money” and “concealed important information during the police probe.”
However, a court rejected a police arrest warrant for the manager. The presiding judge said that it had made its decision “after considering that the manager posed no escape risk.”
The judge added that the manager had also “faithfully cooperated with the police investigation” into Kim.
Lee Sang-cheul, a South Korean crypto trader and IT professional, told Cryptonews.com:
“It’s amazing how many people fall for crypto scams in South Korea nowadays – particularly mining-themed fraud.”
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