[Seongnam Attorney] Seongnam Attorney Obtains a Suspended Sentence for the Team Leader of an Illegal Money-Lending Business

The Seongnam attorney's client joined the illegal money-lending business and, without registering the money-lending business with the competent authority, lent money to people seeking loans and then received interest exceeding the statutory interest rate.

By joining this illegal money-lending business, a criminal organization that, when borrowers could not repay, used force to carry out debt collection, obstructed investigations by investigative agencies, and, in order to avoid confiscation of criminal proceeds, disguised matters as if a third party had received the loan repayments, the client engaged in activity within the criminal organization under the title of ‘Team Leader A.’

The illegal money-lending business the Seongnam attorney's client joined conspired with its members to operate an unregistered money-lending business and received interest exceeding the statutory interest rate.

No person may disguise the facts concerning the acquisition of criminal proceeds.

However, the Seongnam attorney's client conspired with members to operate an unregistered money-lending business and, in receiving interest exceeding the limited rate, disguised the facts concerning the acquisition or disposal of criminal proceeds in order to obstruct the discovery of the offense or the investigation into the source of the criminal proceeds, or to avoid confiscation of the criminal proceeds.

A debt collector must not use deceptive schemes or force against a debtor or a related person, but the Seongnam attorney's client conspired with members and others to threaten the victims over several hundred times.

The Seongnam attorney's client conspired with members to receive and store access media for the purpose of using them in crime.

The Seongnam attorney's client merely used the alias ‘Team Leader A,’ and in substance his duties were no different from those of the other members. Accordingly, the use of the alias ‘Team Leader A’ alone cannot establish that he held a middle-manager position.

The Seongnam attorney's client was involved in the offense for a shorter period than the other members. He was active for a relatively short period of only six months in order to repay his own debt.

The Seongnam attorney's client knew how antisocial an illegal money-lending business was, but, harassed by collection of his own debt, he made a poor judgment in a single moment and had no choice but to become involved in the offense.