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🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

Luxury Goods Resellers Indicted After Faking French Police Report to Evade Charges

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • Two operators of a luxury goods purchasing agency have been indicted on fraud and document forgery charges.
  • They are accused of defrauding seven victims of 216.91 million won by accepting fees and deposits without the ability to fulfill orders or issue refunds.
  • The defendants allegedly submitted a fake French police report claiming a warehouse theft to avoid legal repercussions, which initially led to charges being dropped.

Operators of a luxury goods purchasing agency have been indicted on charges of fraud and document forgery after allegedly deceiving South Korean authorities with a fabricated French police report. The prosecution alleges that the two individuals, identified as A (43) and B (37), defrauded seven victims out of approximately 216.91 million won (about $155,000 USD) between October 2022 and July 2023.

The agency reportedly accepted membership fees and deposits from customers while facing worsening financial conditions, making it impossible to fulfill orders or issue refunds. Prosecutors claim the collected funds were used to cover operational costs, employee salaries, loan repayments, and payments to other customers in a Ponzi-like scheme. Notably, the operators allegedly paid themselves salaries even while employees' wages went unpaid.

When faced with civil lawsuits and a police investigation into fraud allegations, the defendants allegedly created a fake "crime facts confirmation" document purportedly issued by French police. This document claimed that a warehouse storing goods was stolen, providing a reason for their inability to return customer funds. This forged document was submitted to the police and the court, leading to the initial dropping of charges by the police in 2024.

However, an appeal led to the case being transferred to the prosecution for further investigation. In November 2024, prosecutors requested international judicial cooperation from France. The French authorities responded approximately 14 months later, stating that no warehouse theft had been reported and that the submitted document appeared to be a forgery, likely based on a document used by a former employee for a personal theft case. Faced with this evidence, A and B reportedly confessed to the forgery. The prosecution has vowed to take a firm stance against those who submit false evidence to judicial bodies.

We will take a firm stance against those who submit false evidence to investigative agencies or courts.

— ProsecutionStatement following the indictment of the luxury goods agency operators.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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