The owner of a jewelry shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul, has been detained on charges of gold investment fraud involving more than 10 billion won ($6.64 million).
The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant Monday against the shop owner, identified only as A, on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The court cited a flight risk as its reason for granting the warrant.
A is accused of deceiving customers and acquaintances by promising to sell them gold at below-market prices, collecting their money and then failing to deliver the gold. A is also accused of soliciting customers to deposit gold they had already purchased by offering storage fees, then keeping the gold and refusing to return it.
Police have received 146 complaints to date, with total damages estimated at more than 10 billion won. Investigators are continuing to verify whether additional victims exist and to determine the full scale of the losses.
A appeared at the Seoul Central District Court on Monday for a warrant review hearing, bound with rope and wearing a black hat and mask, and walked into the courtroom without comment.
The investigation began when the first complaint was filed with Hyehwa Police Station on June 3. As the scale of the alleged fraud grew, the case was transferred to the financial crimes unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Metropolitan Investigation Unit.
The financial crimes unit apprehended A in Seoul on Friday and applied for an arrest warrant on Sunday. Prosecutors submitted the warrant request to the court the same day.
jookapooka@heraldcorp.com
