A South Korean dentist in Gwangju has fallen victim to a multi-billion-won romance and investment scam orchestrated by a 60-year-old man who falsely claimed to be a multi-hundred-billion-won heir, according to the Gwangju Seobu Police Station. Investigators arrested the suspect, identified only by his surname A, on June 15 following a two-month manhunt.
How the 25.3 Billion Won Fraud Unfolded
A convinced the victim that he belonged to a wealthy family spanning three generations, claiming an inheritance worth approximately 250 billion won.
To establish credibility, A periodically gifted the victim luxury goods and food items. Once trust was established, the suspect claimed that his factories and business assets were seized due to ongoing lawsuits in the United States, prompting him to ask for financial assistance. A promised to return multiples of the principal investment.
When B demanded repayments, A insisted that he needed additional funds to lift the seizure on a factory located in Gyeonggi Province. Police investigators found that A occasionally returned approximately 4 billion won to B under the guise of investment profits to fend off suspicion.
Evasion Tactics and Police Investigation
During the multi-year operation, A went to extensive lengths to avoid law enforcement detection. Investigators discovered that A used aliases, wore a mask during meetings, and utilized mobile phones and bank accounts registered under other people’s names.
Whenever A needed to make a phone call, he traveled roughly 20 kilometers away from his residence, spoke for about five minutes, and immediately powered off the phone. Police eventually tracked digital footprints and bank accounts to identify A’s residence in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, executing an emergency arrest after a two-month stakeout.
Authorities confirmed that A spent the vast majority of the extorted funds on internet broadcast sponsorships and personal expenses.
Subsequent Investigation Into the Victim
As police traced the financial flows in the case, investigators uncovered that dentist B had accumulated funds for A by soliciting investments from her own patients and acquaintances, totaling approximately 100억여원의 that she failed to return.
Although B was initially detained during the investigation, she was later released following a warrant review (gucheokjeokbim) and continues to treat patients who paid for dental procedures in advance, according to local authorities.
The Gwangju Seobu Police Station stated that they plan to hand A over to prosecutors following further investigation into potential additional crimes.
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