A man in his 60s who stole investment funds using coin investment bait... Law: “Investment company blocked access” not guilty

Promising interest to an acquaintance and stealing the investment money... “Virtual asset companies stop paying” rebuttal
The court said, “There is a high possibility that coins could not be secured due to access blocking measures… It is difficult to determine whether the doctor committed fraud.”
 

A woman who was put on trial for stealing money by encouraging an acquaintance to invest in coins was found not guilty.

On the 1st, the Daegu District Court found A, a woman in her 60s, not guilty on charges of fraud.

In 2023, Mr. A was accused of defrauding his acquaintance B of about 25 million won by deceiving him by telling him that he would receive interest if he invested in virtual assets.

Initially, Mr. A received a summary order to pay a fine of 5 million won, but he objected and requested a formal trial.

During the trial, Mr. A argued that although he invested through a normal virtual asset management company, he was unable to provide the money to Mr. B because the company suddenly stopped paying principal and interest. In the process, the company refuted that it could not even secure transaction history data because it blocked access to the computerized transaction network.

The court found Mr. A not guilty. The court said, “It is confirmed that the defendant used some of the money he received for personal purposes,” but added, “However, the defendant attempted to pay coins equivalent to interest, but it appears that access to the app was suddenly blocked and the money was not delivered to the victim.”

He added, “Considering that the employee of the company also made a statement consistent with this, the defendant received the money believing that the investment would be made normally, but it is highly likely that he was unable to secure the coins due to the company’s unilateral access blocking measures.” He added, “It is difficult to conclude that the defendant deceived the victim.”

Attorney Shin Min-soo of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, “In order to be guilty of fraud, there must be no intention or ability to repay the money from the beginning.” He added, “Through statements from company employees, etc., we were able to obtain a not guilty verdict by objectively proving that Mr. A was only a victim due to the blocking of the transaction network and that there was no intention of defrauding him.” whyjay@sportsseoul.com

Reporter Shin Jae-yu

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A man in his 60s who stole investment funds using coin investment bait... Law: “Investment company blocked access” Not guilty (Shortcut)