Singer Jang Yun-jeong's estranged mother accused of fraud using daughter's name

New allegations have emerged that the estranged mother of singer Jang Yun-jeong has been running a fraud scheme by invoking her daughter's name.

A victim identified as B, who claims to have been defrauded by Jang's mother, identified as A, shared her story on the TV crime program "Sageon Banjang," which aired Monday.

According to B, A first built a relationship with her by offering health supplements she described as gifts from Jang, then deceived her into believing that investing in "Miss Trot" — a trot music competition show on TV Chosun in which Jang had appeared — would yield large returns.

Trusting A's claims, B handed over tens of millions of won as investment funds. A allegedly used two mobile phones to fabricate KakaoTalk messages that appeared to come from Jang, in order to gain B's trust.

When B grew worried about her investment, A reassured her that she would receive a call and should not worry. But when B ultimately demanded her money back, A stalled further, citing unspecified problems at Jang's agency linked to comedian Park Na-rae and claiming she had asked Jang's former partner Noh Hong-chul to help with repayment.

The scheme came to light after B's daughter reported her suspicions to police. During the investigation, authorities confirmed that another victim had already filed a complaint against A for using the same method.

Jang's agency said she has had no direct contact with her mother for decades and is unrelated to the incident.

This is not the first time A has faced fraud allegations.

In 2013, ahead of her marriage, Jang appeared on a television program and revealed that all the money she had earned over 10 years had disappeared while her parents were settling assets during their divorce, and that she had been left with debts of about 1 billion won ($649,000) because of her mother and younger brother.

Her mother and brother subsequently held a press conference raising various allegations against Jang and filed a lawsuit claiming ownership of her income. The court rejected A's claims, and Jang also won a partial victory in a separate suit she filed against her brother seeking repayment.

Jang publicly cut ties with A around 2014. Even so, A was indicted and detained on fraud charges after borrowing a total of 415 million won from an acquaintance between 2015 and 2017 and failing to repay it.