South Korean Court Issues First Crypto Fraud Conviction in a Case Not Referred by Regulators

According to ChainCatcher citing Digital Asset, the Goyang Branch of the Uijeongbu District Court sentenced a money-laundering participant in a fake cryptocurrency investment scam to two years and six months in prison for violating the Virtual Asset User Protection Act and other laws. The case involved approximately 501 million won and 14 victims. The court’s ruling marks South Korea’s first conviction under the law in a case that was not referred by financial regulators. The fraud group used a fake investment website to persuade victims to buy nonexistent pre-listing tokens, promising profits after they were listed. The case was initially decided in July this year, and an appeal was dismissed in October, making the ruling final.