215 Arrested In $232M Crypto Fraud

With the rising popularity of crypto investment, especially due to its highly profitable nature, the number of crypto scams has increased exponentially. This is because people have become vulnerable and are looking for shortcuts to make huge profits. However, instead of making profits, they are becoming the victims of crypto fraud with fake promises of heavy returns. One such major scam has been exposed in South Korea, where the scammer targeted thousands of desperate middle-aged people, scamming $232M.

South Korean Police Busted 215 People In Major Crypto Scam

In a major bust, the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit has arrested 215 people for running a crypto fraud affecting more than 15,000 people. Similarly, the police also busted a $1.6M crypto scam in the Bitcoin miner business just a few days ago.

As per the local news, the team knocked down a fake investment consulting firm, quasi-investment consulting, run by a relatively popular YouTuber with 620,000 subscribers. This scam has been running for two and half years, between December 2021 and March 2, 2023. More than 12 people, including the ringleader, Mr. A, have been charged under the Aggravated Punishment Act for Specific Economic Crimes and are under detention.

The Police investigation revealed that the YouTuber has been running multiple pseudo-investment consulting firms and organizations. Collectively they ran money laundering, price manipulation, and other related activities to embezzle investors’ money. The team had lured in middle-aged commoners with their YouTube advertisements, claiming as high as 20x profits.

Some of their commonly used dialogues were ‘A chance to change your destiny’ or even ‘Sell your apartment and get a loan to buy coins.’ With these claims, this crypto fraud has collected over $232M from 15,304 people. Out of which, some for real sold their living apartments, making it one of the biggest crypto scams.

Scammer Promoted 28 Fake & Low Volume Tokens

The crypto scammers made people invest in 28 crypto tokens. Among these, six were self-launched, and the remaining were low-volume tokens. They were pumping the crypto tokens by buying large quantities. With such tactics, they trick people into believing that the tokens are high-performing and would make heavy profits.

The remaining low market cap tokens had heavy risks and often resulted in loss. However, the scammers did not just stop with the embezzled money. After the losses, they used to call investors, asking for the security number in promises to compensate for the losses. With those, they took loans on investors’ profiles, making it more than just a crypto fraud.

Culprit Arrested Despite His Running Attempt

The police investigation also clarified that YouTube or Mr. A was running crypto fraud to make up the member refund request for stocks that were halted in 2020. However, with the crypto scam, he had made $234M and was holding 22 Bitcoins. These are now worth around $1.9M per today’s BTC price of $87.6K.

The culprit was already on the run and fled to Australia but was arrested on November 13. The police department has urged netizens to stay away from such high profit-making promises.