Fake gem mine set in Cambodia... Mining fraud gang member sentenced to 1 year in prison

A member of a fraud organization who set up a set for a fake gem mine in Cambodia and stole the participation fee by pretending that a large amount of money would be paid if the gem was mined while broadcasting online was sentenced to prison.

According to the legal community on the 10th, Judge Lee Jun-min of the 6th Criminal Division of the Busan District Court sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of fraud and violation of the Special Act on Prevention of Damage from Telecommunications and Financial Fraud and Refund of Damages, to one year in prison.

According to the ruling, the organization that Mr. A participated in rented a two-story house in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for $1,100 per month last January and installed a fake gem mine set inside.

They prepared fake rubies and sapphires, made it look like Cambodian miners were mining real gems, and broadcast it live on Facebook.

The broadcast requested a participation fee, saying, "We will distribute 1 billion won to the participants for every 3g of ruby ​​or 50g of sapphire mined."

However, it was not actually mining gems, but rather a method of continuing to collect money from participants by making it look like the mining amount was below the winning criteria.

The organization was run by dividing roles into the general manager, broadcaster, miner, customer center, and recruitment officer.

The members called each other by nicknames or abbreviations and operated in a branch organization, making it difficult to identify other members.

Mr. A joined this organization last May and took on the role of a customer center to guide broadcast viewers on how to participate and deposit accounts.

Person A was indicted on charges of receiving and embezzling a total of 37.3 million won from victim B 11 times from May 8 to the following day.

The court pointed out, “Telecommunications financial fraud techniques are becoming more sophisticated and the personal and social damage is serious,” and “the degree of participation is not light as the defendant plays the role of a customer center in direct contact with the victims.”

However, the fact that Mr. A confessed to the crime and deposited 3 million won to recover the damage, and that his participation in the crime was only two days were reflected in the sentencing.