Three people involved in a bogus crypto exchange that defrauded 50,000 victims out of more than $1.4 billion will avoid jail time.
The unnamed accomplices were sentenced for their roles in running V Global in South Korea, and ordered to pay substantial fines.
A 60-year-old woman known only as “Ms. A” was fined about $436,000, while 63-year-old “Ms. B” faces a $307,000 penalty. The judge concluded a 57-year-old man referred to as “Mr. C” must pay $186,000.
All three were given three-year prison terms, suspended for five years, meaning they’ll avoid the inside of a jail cell as long as they don’t reoffend.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, the rulings come two years after the CEO of V Global—described as the mastermind of the fraud—was sentenced to 25 years behind bars.
The exchange was in operation between July 2020 and April 2021, with the trio rising through the ranks by participating in multi-level marketing.
It is alleged they earned more than $1 million in profits as a result, with the court declaring they caused “astronomical damage” by exploiting high levels of interest in digital assets. Back in 2020, Bitcoin had breached $20,000 for the first time.
“Over 50,000 victims are still living in economic and mental pain, and the social damage is so great that there is a need for strict punishment,” the judge said, in quotes obtained by Yonhap.
The CEO of V Global was only known in the press as “Mr. Lee,” and at the time of his sentencing, it was alleged he had promised that investors would receive 300% returns if they purchased a new digital asset called “V-Cash.”
The wheels of justice turn slowly
This is the latest in a long line of cases where the executives of fraudulent trading platforms or bogus initial coin offerings have been brought to justice—often years after their offences have taken place.
Last year, the Australian promoter of the defunct Bitconnect Ponzi scheme, which ran from 2016 to 2018, was convicted for providing unlicensed financial advice. The founders of the HashFlare Bitcoin mining scam, which operated between 2015 and 2019, were not sentenced until last month.
