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Cambodian 'Honghui Group' Scam Members Get Prison Sentences
🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

Cambodian 'Honghui Group' Scam Members Get Prison Sentences

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • Ten members of the 'Honghui Group' scam organization received prison sentences for defrauding victims of 7.1 billion won through a 'no-show' scam targeting public institutions and businesses in Cambodia.
  • The organization operated with a hierarchical structure, including a Chinese leader, Chinese and Korean managers, team leaders, and members, offering base salaries and commissions.
  • The court emphasized the sophisticated and organized nature of the crime, its significant social harm, and the difficulty in uncovering such transnational criminal activities, leading to severe sentences for most defendants.

A South Korean court has sentenced ten members of the 'Honghui Group' scam organization to prison for their involvement in a large-scale 'no-show' fraud scheme. The group, operating from Cambodia, defrauded 210 victims of approximately 7.1 billion won (about $5.2 million USD) between August and December of the previous year.

The criminal method is very meticulous and organized, and it causes great social harm by targeting an unspecified number of people.

— The CourtThe court explained the severity of the crime during the sentencing.

The organization meticulously impersonated public institutions and hospitals, tricking businesses into believing they were purchasing goods on behalf of specific clients. They then absconded with the payments. The court handed down sentences ranging from 1 year and 10 months to 8 years in prison, with team leader A receiving a six-year sentence.

The 'Honghui Group' utilized a structured hierarchy, including a Chinese ringleader, managers, team leaders, and members, organized into five teams. Members lived together in Cambodia, receiving a base salary of $2,000 per month plus commissions. The scam involved collecting target company information, sending forged documents, and inducing victims to wire payments to untraceable bank accounts.

It is difficult to uncover the reality of criminal organizations operating abroad, and it is not easy to track criminal proceeds, so the crime is very serious.

— The CourtThe court elaborated on the challenges and gravity of transnational organized crime.

Despite some defendants claiming to be part of different organizations or denying direct involvement, the court found them guilty, noting the shared operational structure and the essential roles they played in the fraud. The court highlighted the sophisticated and transnational nature of the crime, stating that such organizations are difficult to track and their illicit gains hard to recover, thus warranting severe punishment. Most of the accused voluntarily traveled to Cambodia to participate in the scheme, and victims have yet to recover their losses.

Most of the defendants voluntarily went abroad with definitive intent and participated in the crime, and the damage has not yet been recovered.

— The CourtThe court cited the defendants' intent and lack of restitution as reasons for the sentences.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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