Civil court orders 800 million won in damages

Former People Power Party lawmaker Tae Young-ho. [The Herald Business DB]
Former People Power Party lawmaker Tae Young-ho. [The Herald Business DB]

The eldest son of former People Power Party lawmaker Tae Young-ho was sentenced to prison Wednesday in a first-instance ruling over a virtual asset investment fraud scheme worth about 1.8 billion won ($1.34 million).

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25 sentenced the suspect, identified only by the surname Tae, to three years and six months in prison on charges including aggravated fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

The court said Tae had taken more than 1.8 billion won from victims and committed repeated offenses against multiple people, finding the nature of the crimes to be serious. It also noted that some victims had petitioned for a heavy sentence and were suffering significant financial hardship.

However, the court imposed a sentence below the sentencing guideline minimum of four years, citing Tae's partial repayment to victims and the fact that Tae had no prior criminal record.

Tae was indicted in custody in May after allegedly receiving about 1.46 billion won from acquaintances under the pretense of investing in virtual assets on their behalf and generating returns. Two subsequent indictments followed as additional criminal conduct worth about 400 million won came to light, and the cases were consolidated for trial.

Prosecutors had sought eight years in prison at the final hearing in September. A separate civil court had earlier ordered Tae to pay about 800 million won in damages to victims in a related civil suit.


yg@heraldcorp.com