A man in his 40s defrauded an intellectually disabled victim out of 31 million won (about $20,400) by claiming a statistical program could predict winning lottery numbers. After years on the run, prosecutors tracked him down and secured his detention and indictment.
By Yang Geun-hyuk, The Herald Business
A man in his 40s accused of defrauding an intellectually disabled victim out of roughly 31 million won ($20,400) by falsely promising to reveal winning lottery numbers has been arrested seven years after the crime. The suspect had evaded authorities through repeated disappearances, but prosecutors tracked him down and ultimately indicted him in custody.
The Yeoju Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office, led by chief prosecutor Lee Yu-seon, indicted the suspect, identified only as A, on fraud charges on June 5.
Between May 2018 and May 2019, A allegedly told the victim he could provide first-prize lottery numbers through a statistical analysis program and promised to refund the money if the numbers did not win. Over roughly a year, he received 31 million won across 40 separate transfers into a bank account belonging to B, a woman in her 50s who lived with him.
Police arrested B in early April 2020 and questioned her. She told investigators that A had used her phone and bank account to carry out the scheme, and was released. By September of that year, police could not locate either A or B and forwarded the case to prosecutors with a recommendation to suspend the indictment. Prosecutors issued a suspension order and placed both on a wanted list. Under the Prosecutors' Case Procedure Rules, a ministerial regulation of the Ministry of Justice, prosecutors may suspend an indictment when a suspect's whereabouts are unknown, until that obstacle is resolved.
Five years later, in late August last year, A was stopped by police for driving without a license and questioned about the fraud case before being released. Prosecutors received the case with a recommendation for indictment in October of that year. But A disappeared again, prompting prosecutors to apply for an arrest warrant in March this year. After the court issued the warrant, prosecutors launched their own search.
Prosecutors checked A's hospital visit records through the National Health Insurance Service. They found that while in hiding, A had been attending medical appointments using other people's addresses and phone numbers to stay off investigators' radar.
Prosecutors also executed search and seizure warrants on a delivery company and a navigation service provider, uncovering evidence that A — who had previously worked as a truck driver for a moving company — had taken a job at a new moving firm after going into hiding. Investigators then questioned the company's chief executive and others, obtained A's phone number, and executed a communications warrant to track his call records and real-time location. Prosecutors arrested him directly in late May.
After his arrest, A confessed to the fraud during questioning, and a court issued a detention warrant placing him in custody. At the warrant review hearing, A reportedly appealed to the court to spare him from detention, citing circumstances involving B. Prosecutors confirmed that A had lied in an attempt to avoid detention, submitted a written rebuttal to the court, and secured his custody. B, who had also been on the wanted list, was cleared of suspicion after a single round of questioning.
yg@heraldcorp.com
