According to CryptoPotato, a South Korean district court has sentenced the CEO and CTO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitsonic to eight years in prison for stealing millions of dollars in customer funds. CEO Jinwook Shin and CTO Bae were sentenced to seven and one year behind bars, respectively, during the first trial of the case at the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Agreement Division 12 on February 6. Shin was found guilty of fraudulently manipulating cryptocurrency prices and trading volume on Bitsonic from January 2019 to May 2021 using the buyback method.
The technique involved buying back a substantial quantity of the Bitsonic Coin (BSC) to raise the token’s price. In addition, Shin entered false Korean Won points into the Bitsonic system to create an illusion of the exchange receiving heavy deposits. With these techniques, Shin recruited about 101 investors from whom he stole cash and crypto deposits worth 10 billion won ($7.5 million). The court indicted the Bitsonic executive on charges of fraud, falsification of prior self-records, obstruction of business by computer, and forgery of prior self-records.
CTO Bae was sentenced on charges of obstruction of business due to computer disorders as he created and operated a program that allowed Shin to execute the buyback method. South Korean authorities arrested Shin in August 2023, two years after Bitsonic announced the shutdown of its operations due to 'internal and external issues.'
Alex