▲ Daejeon District Court
Scammers who exploited the intellectual disabilities of acquaintances to steal tens of millions of won have been sentenced to prison in a series of rulings.
The Daejeon District Court sentenced a person in their 30s, identified as A, and a person in their 20s, identified as B, to 10 months in prison each on charges of quasi-fraud.
The two were accused of deceiving an acquaintance, C, who suffers from a severe intellectual disability, to steal money in March 2024.
A and B proposed that C enter into a partnership to run an online shopping mall.
They then deceived C by claiming, "We need capital, so we will help you take out a loan using your mobile phone."
Using this method of taking out loans in C's name, they stole 19.59 million won.
It was also revealed that B, in particular, introduced C to a job and then siphoned off 14 million won of C's salary into their own account.
The court stated, "The nature of the crime is very poor, as they took advantage of the fact that the victim is a person with a severe intellectual disability to obtain financial gain."
The court further explained the sentencing, noting, "Although B reached a settlement, a strict punishment is inevitable as they engaged in the exploitation of a person with a disability, such as by stealing their wages."
Separately, a person in their 50s was also given a prison sentence for swindling money from a person with an intellectual disability by promising to introduce them to a marriage partner.
Another panel at the Daejeon District Court sentenced a person in their 50s, identified as D, to two years in prison on charges including quasi-fraud.
D realized that a person in their 30s, identified as E, who had visited after seeing an advertisement for puppy adoption, had an intellectual disability.
In March, D systematically approached E, claiming, "I will introduce you to a marriage partner."
D then demanded "marriage expenses" and received 54 million won via bank transfer.
Investigations revealed that the photo of the woman D showed to the victim was a fake captured from the internet.
It was found that D had planned to use the stolen money to pay for a land purchase.
The court reprimanded D, stating, "The method of the crime was persistent, including cutting off contact between the victim and their family to secure financial gain."
However, the court added, "We have taken into account the fact that the money was returned and the damage appears to have been restored."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.