The top executive at a South Korean scam crypto exchange that duped over 50,000 investors out of a combined $1.7 billion will serve an eight-year jail sentence after a court found him guilty of fraud.
Kyeongin Ilbo and Economist.co.kr reported that the Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court sentenced a “top-tier” V Global executive surnamed Yang to eight years in prison. Another “leading” executive surnamed Oh received a three-year term.
Both were found guilty of crypto-specific fraud charges. Another individual, surnamed Lee and identified as the firm’s CEO, was sentenced to 25 years behind bars in a separate trial.
The court also handed out jail terms to five other individuals, who were given three years behind bars and five years probation.
Police and prosecutors have been investigating the V Global exchange for almost two years. Although the platform was engineered to look like a bona fide crypto trading platform, the court heard that it was in fact a front for a sophisticated multi-layered pyramid scheme.
Customers were encouraged to “recruit” new platform “members.” And older members were paid with money from new “recruits.”
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