Son of former lawmaker Tae Young-ho indicted on charges of 1.4 billion won investment fraud

The eldest son of former People Power Party lawmaker Tae Young-ho has been indicted on charges of defrauding acquaintances of 1.4 billion won ($911,000) through a virtual asset investment scam, it emerged Wednesday.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Division 8, led by chief prosecutor Kim Ju-hyeon, indicted the suspect — identified only by his surname Tae — last month on charges including aggravated fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

Tae is accused of collecting about 1.4 billion won from acquaintances by promising to invest the funds in virtual assets on their behalf and generate returns, then pocketing the money instead.

Investigators found that he invoked his father's name to lend credibility to the scheme, persuading victims he could deliver profits from virtual asset investments while never actually making any such investments.

Police, who handled the initial investigation, transferred Tae to prosecutors in custody on May 13.

Tae admitted to the charges during questioning, according to investigators.