- A South Korean influencer scammed more than 15,000 people out of $232M.
- Authorities caught 215 people, including the YouTuber who fled to Australia.
South Korean police arrested over 215 people suspected of being involved in a cryptocurrency scam in which over 15,000 victims were scammed of more than 325.6 billion won, or roughly $232 million. Reports said the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency exposed the scheme. This occurred during an investigation. The investigation unveiled a corrupt scheme that targeted middle-aged and elderly investors from December 2021 to March 2023.
The scam was reportedly organized by a YouTuber who has over 620,000 subscribers. Authorities suspect the influencer of pushing scams on his channel that promised fake investments in virtual assets. The authorities further claim that the YouTuber was the leader of an illegal organization. This organization mastered the skill of duping people into selling homes and taking loans with promises of up to 20 times returns in particular types of cryptocurrencies.
Token Manipulation and Market Deception
The mastermind and his friends directly controlled six of the 28 tokens traded in the plan. They fraudulently inflated these tokens, presenting them as high-value instruments. This was done through market manipulation by a team of brokers and market makers. The remaining tickets were low in volume and almost useless. The group committed additional fraud by listing such coins on overseas platforms. They misled investors into believing the coins had significant trading potential.
Twelve suspects, including a YouTuber who sneaked out of the country to Australia via Hong Kong and Singapore, have already been detained. Other charges include price manipulation, money laundering, and fraud. The South Korean authorities have seized assets estimated at about $34 million comprising 22 Bitcoins discovered in a crypto wallet held in the possession of the scammer in charge. Police have sought permission from the court to seize more assets so as to compensate affected parties.
The South Korean police advise citizens who face the prospect of investment promising them returns other than the normal when they insist on heavy propaganda, either through social media or even private consultations. The authorities continue to emphasize that they conduct thorough investigations and avoid being blinded by too-good-to-be-true offers.
The South Korean government has subsequently followed up with further consistent crackdowns on fraudulent crypto schemes, and this arrest has represented a key step toward the responsibility of perpetrators in an increasingly complex digital financial landscape.
