The Korea Herald

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Suspect of W15bn fraud case nabbed

By Lim Jae-seong

Published : Dec. 13, 2022 - 14:03

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The Suwon Nambu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province (Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency) The Suwon Nambu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province (Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency)

A fraud suspect in his 40s was apprehended by the police on Monday with suspected crime revenue of about 15 billion won ($11.5 million) after several days on the run.

The police caught an online merchant who disappeared with money paid by at least 46 people for luxury bags and gift cards, the Suwon Nambu Police Station on Tuesday.

In the investigation, the suspect confessed that he made as much as 15 billion won in criminal revenue, according to local media reports.

The suspect, who sold luxury bags on his online shop and department gift cards on his own blog for years, suddenly shut down his businesses on Nov. 7 and disappeared with prepayments from his customers.

According to the victims, he had delayed sending products, and collected payments for a year.

The victims accused him of fraud in early November.

“Only a few victims accused him so far. Around 150 people gathered in a messenger chatting room for the victims,” a victim said in an interview with local media, expecting that the real damages from the fraud case would be much higher than specified on the accusation.

The police announced it will continue investigating to figure out the exact circumstance, despite the suspect’s confession.