Criminal Complaint for Fraud | Assisting a Client Harmed by Fraud With a Criminal Complaint and Obtaining a Prison Sentence Rather Than a Fine for the Offender

Fraud is the crime of deceiving another person to receive property or to obtain a pecuniary benefit.

Under the Criminal Act, 🔗the crime of fraud is punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to 20 million won. If the amount of gain is 500 million won or more, however, aggravated punishment applies under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

∙ If the amount of gain is 500 million won or more but less than 5 billion won, imprisonment for a definite term of three years or more
∙ If the amount of gain is 5 billion won or more, life imprisonment or imprisonment for a definite term of five years or more
∙ A fine equivalent to up to the amount of gain may also be imposed concurrently.

In the case of this client, the amount of harm was approximately 900 million won, so aggravated punishment is possible under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

The crime of fraud is committed when there is an act of deceiving the other party, when that act of deception causes the other party to fall into a mistaken belief, when financial harm results so that an intent of unlawful acquisition is shown, and when there is intent or purpose.

The offenders, who were former colleagues of the client, told him that he could earn large profits by investing in a business they were preparing.

The offenders won the client's favor with smooth talk and asked him to deposit his investment into their own bank accounts.

The facts the offenders described were false stories meant to deceive the client, and the business and other matters they spoke of were entirely fictitious.

The client accordingly made deposits into the offenders' accounts dozens of times, depositing a total of approximately 900 million won to date.

The offenders demanded money on various pretexts, saying that value-added tax had to be paid, that money was needed for the corporate registration filing procedure, and that a suspended account had to be unlocked, and their methods grew increasingly varied and cunning.

The offenders deceived the client by telling him that more money was needed in order to recover what he had already invested, and the client even took out a loan secured by his home to send money.

The criminal attorney emphasized that the offenders' describing a fictitious business to the client and obtaining money amounted to an act of deception.

The criminal attorney argued that the method of the offense was highly egregious, in that the offenders divided their roles and committed the offense in an organized and professional manner, having planned it meticulously and in advance for the purpose of fraud.

The client, the victim, lost most of his assets as a result of this case, and no recovery of the loss has been achieved at all.

The criminal attorney earnestly requested that all of the offenders be thoroughly investigated and severely punished.

If you have become the victim of fraud, you should make efforts to recover the amount of harm through a prompt legal response in the early stage of the investigation.

A criminal complaint is an expression of intent by a victim who has suffered harm, or by a person in a specific relationship with the victim, reporting the facts of the crime to an investigative agency and urging the punishment of the offender.

When filing a criminal complaint for fraud, it is recommended to set out in the complaint, in concrete terms, the purpose of the complaint as well as the facts of the crime and the reasons for filing it, and it is also recommended to submit supporting materials that can objectively prove the facts giving rise to the complaint, that is, the fact that the fraud caused harm.

In addition, as a rule, the complaint is to be submitted to the investigative agency with jurisdiction over the defendant's address, place of residence, present location, or place of the crime. It is recommended to submit it in person, but if submission in person is unavoidably not possible, submission by mail or through a representative is also possible.

In order to pursue a fraud complaint successfully, you must have firm evidence in hand in advance that corresponds to the elements of the offense.

If you have suffered harm from fraud, 🔗Attorney Referral and proceed with a criminal complaint.