Suspect approached female regulars at disco pang-pang venue with systematic plan

Used their phones to take out loans, ran accounts as ghost accounts for financial fraud

Targeted women with developmental disabilities; police launch investigation

Police have launched an investigation into a man who allegedly persuaded people with developmental disabilities to activate mobile phone accounts and take out loans, then used those accounts as so-called "ghost accounts" — shell bank accounts used to launder illicit funds — to withdraw large sums of money. [Generated with ChatGPT]
Police have launched an investigation into a man who allegedly persuaded people with developmental disabilities to activate mobile phone accounts and take out loans, then used those accounts as so-called "ghost accounts" — shell bank accounts used to launder illicit funds — to withdraw large sums of money. [Generated with ChatGPT]

A man allegedly approached female regulars at a disco pang-pang indoor amusement ride venue, persuaded them to open mobile phone accounts and take out loans, then used their bank accounts as ghost accounts — shell accounts used to launder illicit funds — in a fraud scheme. Most of the victims had developmental disabilities.

Seoul's Jungnang Police Station has booked a man surnamed Jo, in his 20s, on charges including fraud in connection with a disco pang-pang venue in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, and has launched an investigation.

According to police, Jo allegedly approached victim A, a woman in her 20s with a severe intellectual disability who frequented the venue, telling her he could help her earn pocket money and that she would receive cash just by completing a verification step. He then took her phone and used it to take out loans in her name — including an emergency loan and loans from savings banks and a capital finance company — totaling 13 million won ($8,410).

According to A's family, Jo changed the passwords and unlock patterns on her mobile banking apps and deleted the apps so she could not check her own accounts.

Jo also allegedly used accounts in A's name as ghost accounts for financial fraud schemes such as voice phishing. A's family said more than 1,000 deposits were made into their daughter's account in a single day, with about 300 withdrawals in a single month, and that the total amount withdrawn reached 830 million won.

The family said Jo reassured the victim by promising to pay her 3 million won if she waited, kept in contact using Instagram voice calls and auto-deleting direct messages, and asked her to bring other friends with developmental disabilities.

The family of a second victim, B, said their daughter had opened a phone account and taken out loans at Jo's direction, losing about 20 million won to the scheme. "Our daughter has an IQ of 70 and had no idea what was being done to her," the family said. "She followed Jo's instructions via Telegram and even brought a friend along."

The victims said Jo approached them through introductions by venue staff, typically appearing on busy weekend evenings. Some of the women believed he was a venue employee. There are also accounts that he had once worked at the disco pang-pang location before leaving, and the victims' families say some staff members may have been involved in the scheme.

One victim's family said Jo was on friendly terms with venue staff, who introduced him to their daughter as "a good older brother." The family also said staff members collected their daughter's ID card and handed it to Jo.

Jungnang Police Station recently took over a case that had been filed with Seoul's Dongjak Police Station and merged it with the existing investigation. The first report related to Jo was filed on Jan. 9, and the total number of cases has since reached seven. Most involve similar methods and circumstances, and some of the victims have been confirmed to be women with developmental disabilities.

Police said they plan to investigate the full circumstances of Jo's alleged crimes and the extent of the damage based on victim statements and financial transaction records.

Disco pang-pang venues are frequented by teenagers and have seen a persistent string of crimes, including extortion and sex offenses. It recently came to light that a DJ at one venue sexually assaulted a female high school student who worked there last year.


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