South Korean Law Firm Chief Sentenced to Prison for Misappropriating Client Funds to Invest in Cryptocurrency
According to Newsis, the lawyer, who remains unnamed and in their 50s, embezzled $170,000 on December 27, 2021. The money was transferred from a company account to the lawyer’s personal bank account. The funds originally belonged to a corporate client who had entrusted the law firm to complete a real estate transaction as part of a trust agreement.
Instead of fulfilling their duty, the lawyer unlawfully appropriated the money and used it for personal purposes, specifically investing in cryptocurrencies. In addition, the law firm chief also stole a registration fee of approximately $1,700 from another private client.
Unfortunately, the crypto investments made by the lawyer proved to be unsuccessful, and prosecutors were unable to recover any of the stolen funds.
Given the substantial amount of damage inflicted and the lack of restitution, Justice Jeong Soon-yeol of the District Court’s 11th Criminal Division emphasized the need for a severe punishment, stating, “Considering these factors, I have no choice but to hand out a severe punishment in this case.”
This incident is indicative of an emerging trend of cryptocurrency-related crimes in Busan. In December of the previous year, authorities in the southern city apprehended a group of more than 80 suspected crypto scammers. The region has also seen other cases involving the use of crypto for illicit activities, such as the recent imprisonment of a drug dealer for seven years and the sentencing of an individual for forging bank documents to support a fraudulent crypto exchange.