South Korean Police Arrest 215 Suspects in $232M Crypto Scam

South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Wednesday that authorities have arrested 215 individuals linked to a $232 million crypto scam, which deceived more than 15,000 victims.

The operation, which began in late 2021, lured investors with promises of high returns on worthless tokens until March 2023.

Suspects Behind the South Korea Crypto Scam

The scheme was led by a YouTuber who ran a fraudulent investment firm.

At one point, the YouTuber fled the country, traveling through Hong Kong and Singapore before eventually reaching Australia.

Authorities have confirmed that he headed the consulting firm that promoted the investment products.

The scam occurred between December 2021 and March 2023, during which the accused swindled over 325.6 billion Korean won ($232 million) from investors.

South Korean police uncovered a major fraud case. The main suspect was a YouTuber with 620,000 subscribers. He lured more than 15,000 investors to participate in cryptocurrency transactions by falsely advertising high returns. The amount involved was as high as 213 million US…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 13, 2024

The suspect leading the scheme is a YouTuber who operated a fraudulent investment firm.

The YouTuber fled the country at one point, traveling through Hong Kong and Singapore before eventually arriving in Australia.

The Extent of the Crypto Scam and Victims’ Losses

This particular scam, which promised high returns through investments in cryptocurrency, targeted mostly middle-aged and older individuals.

Victims were often encouraged to sell their homes and take out loans to invest in the tokens.

Police have confirmed that the scam involved 28 digital assets, six of which were created by the perpetrators, while the remaining 22 tokens had low trading volumes and no real value.

Authorities believe the victims were lured by false promises of high returns from virtual asset investments, leading many to invest their life savings and suffer severe financial losses.

Rise in Crypto Scams in South Korea

Crypto scams have been on the rise lately in South Korea.

One example is a crypto scam case in which a group of Bitcoin mining scammers made a critical mistake that led to their downfall.

A detective with the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency was accidentally targeted by a fraudulent call from one of the scammers.

Realizing he was being scammed, the detective pretended to fall for the pitch and provided fake details to the scammers. This allowed the police to trace the call back to its source.

Another major scandal revolves around the KOK crypto scam, where South Korea’s largest newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, has come under fire for allegedly promoting the fraudulent cryptocurrency.

🇰🇷 South Korea's Chosun Ilbo faces allegations of promoting the KOK cryptocurrency scam, with victims claiming $2.97B in losses. Ongoing investigations are underway.#BlockchainNews #CryptoScamhttps://t.co/BB1VRhVwDK

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) October 8, 2024

Victims have claimed that the newspaper, along with its subsidiaries, gave KOK credibility by publishing favorable reports. The crypto scam reportedly resulted in losses amounting to $2.97 billion.

Additionally, the case of Kim, a South Korean man involved in a $3.4 million crypto fraud, further illustrates the lengths to which fraudsters will go to evade justice.

Kim, who had been on the run for nearly a year, spent over $15,000 on plastic surgery to change his appearance in an attempt to escape arrest.

The police eventually tracked and arrested him, but his case adds another layer to the growing problem of crypto fraud in South Korea.