Prosecutors seek life imprisonment for crypto exchange chiefs in groundbreaking legal case

[CryptoMund]

https://cryptomund com/posts/Prosecutors-seek-life-imprisonment-for-crypto-exchange-chiefs-in-groundbreaking-legal-case-p249

The seven masterminds behind VGlobal, a South Korean crypto exchange that scammed over 52,000 investors out of $2 billion, could be facing life in prison. This would be a new legal precedent for fraudsters in the crypto world.



According to KBS, prosecutors are asking for life sentences for the seven individuals involved in the fraud, in addition to fines ranging from $103.4 million to $2 million. It's extremely rare for prosecutors in financial fraud cases to request life sentences, making this case even more unique in the crypto sector.



In 2016, a mastermind of a conventional financial fraud ring was sentenced to 25 years for creating a scam that was just as far-reaching.



Prosecutors allege that the platform looked like any other South Korean crypto trading platform, with a flashy, professional-looking website price tickers for coins like Bitcoin (BTC), government warnings about the risks of trading crypto, and other carefully crafted details. However, upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the platform was a scam, created with the sole intention of stealing people's money. However, they believe that the well-staffed office in an affluent area in the nation’s unofficial tech capital, Suwon, was just a facade to make the platform seem more legitimate.



Prosecutors stated that VGlobal was a fraudulent multi-level marketing platform that promised investors unrealistic profits for recruiting new members. However, investors and prosecutors alike soon learned that VGlobal was just another guise for a fraudulent investment scheme.



When the VGlobal platform announced that it would be airdropping its own coins to investors for every new token listed, many people were excited. However, last year, things took a turn for the worse when disgruntled investors came forward, claiming they had been unable to withdraw their funds.



According to court testimony, customers were told they would need to invest at least $15,200 to join the exchange, and that they could expect triple their investment "in a matter of months."



The police raided a number of premises in connection with their probe – including the VGlobal offices and a property belonging to the firm’s CEO. They seized and froze assets as part of their investigation.


The CEO, only known by his surname (Lee), has staunchly denied all charges and maintained he was in the process of refunding the investors.


Cryptonews com has reached out to VGlobal multiple times for comment, but the company has not responded. Additionally, its website has been offline for several weeks. Earlier this month, a group of investors asked the court to hand out the harshest possible sentences.



Prosecutors argued that Lee and his cronies had taken advantage of vulnerable individuals, such as the elderly and young people. They claimed that the group had caused severe psychological and economic damage to their victims.



The prosecution lawyers had strong words for the group, stating that they took advantage of an atmosphere of heightened speculative sentiment to deceive the elderly and young people who were struggling to find employment. The group is said to have committed a series of systematic and planned crimes, and disseminated false information as part of their strategy.

[WalletInvestor]

This is indeed a somewhat surprising outcome. Then again, it is true that we don't have a lot of precedent on these specific kinds of frauds. I don't know enough about the justice system to form an opinion but I'm curious about whether this will affect the way crypto fraudsters are treated in the future.