Man in his 40s jailed for laundering voice phishing proceeds through casino

A man in his 40s has been sentenced to prison for helping launder more than 2 billion won ($1.47 million) in voice phishing proceeds through a casino.

Judge Park Byung-ju of the Busan District Court sentenced the man, identified only by the initial A, to one year and eight months in prison on charges of fraud and violating the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment. The court also ordered the forfeiture of 3.8 million won.

A came into contact with a voice phishing ring member last November and accepted an offer to join the operation in exchange for a commission. He was indicted on charges of recruiting cash withdrawers and transporting gang members by vehicle to help launder the criminal proceeds.

The gang impersonated stock investment experts and lured victims into a fraudulent investment website, stealing about 2.05 billion won from 34 victims between Nov. 25 and Nov. 27 last year.

The group used a casino to convert a total of 2.92 billion won in criminal proceeds into cash.

They exploited a rule allowing casino VIP customers who purchase gaming chips with checks and play above a certain threshold to exchange remaining chips for cash.

Cash withdrawers would retrieve money from bank accounts in the form of checks and hand them to a VIP customer acting as a currency exchanger, who would then convert them into gaming chips at Kangwon Land and cash them out.

A aided the scheme by driving gang members around the Kangwon Land area in his vehicle, investigators found.

The court said A "played a role in recruiting cash withdrawers and appears to have been fully aware of the nature of the crimes, making it difficult to view his involvement as minor," adding that "the damage has neither been recovered nor have the victims forgiven him."

However, the court took into account in its sentencing that A admitted to the offenses, that his involvement was not prolonged, that he did not appear to have led the scheme, and that he had no prior convictions of the same kind or any criminal record beyond a fine.