An internet cafe operator who defrauded members of 14 billion won by promising them high returns for investing in department store gift certificates has made her first media appearance since the incident.
A woman in her 50s, who is suspected of violating the Act on the Regulation of Fraud and Similar Acts under the Severe Punishment of Certain Economic Crimes Act메이저사이트, entered the Incheon District Court on Tuesday afternoon for a pretrial interrogation (warrant substantive examination).
The police had been investigating her since late last year after receiving complaints from across the country and applied for a preliminary arrest warrant on March 26.
After arriving at the court with his lawyer, Ahn did not go straight into the warrant substantive examination courtroom, but lingered around the perimeter for about 10 minutes when he spotted reporters waiting to take pictures.
When asked if he admitted to the fraud and if he was sorry for the victims, he swatted the microphone away with his hand and went into the courtroom without answering.
The substantive examination of the warrant will begin at 2:30 p.m., and a decision on whether he will be detained will be made later in the day.
Ahn is accused of defrauding 61 members of 14.2 billion won by running an internet cafe from January 2020 to September last year.
He offered so-called “sangtech” to members, promising to return their principal with a 30 percent return if they invested in department store gift certificates, and initially built trust by actually sharing the profits, then continued to induce them to reinvest.
Most of the victims were housewives, who invested 1.17 billion won in Mr. A and received their money back.
Police believe Mr. A defrauded 282 cafe members of a total of 46 billion won, but only 14.2 billion won was included in the arrest warrant for the alleged fraud because 61 of the victims were reluctant to come forward.
Instead, the police believed that Mr. A had engaged in pseudo-receipt activities that illegally collected funds under the guise of gift certificates, and judged the entire 46 billion won as a violation of the Pseudo-Receipt Regulation Act.
In addition to Mr. A, the police have detained two accomplices on the same charges and are expanding the investigation.
“The office that Mr. A operated in Incheon was closed down after the investigation began,” said a police official, “and we applied for an arrest warrant for 14.2 billion won, the amount of the alleged fraud for which we have secured victim statements.”