“I was fooled too” Voice phishing collection plan… Sentence reduced after appeal

A woman in her 50s who was put on trial on charges of collecting cash from voice phishing victims and delivering it to a criminal organization had her sentence commuted on appeal.

According to the legal community on the 13th, the 5-2nd Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court overturned the original trial ruling and sentenced A, a housewife in her 50s who was recently indicted on charges of fraud, to eight months in prison.

Mr. A is accused of conspiring with members of a voice phishing organization in 2023 to steal and deliver approximately 400 million won from 16 victims.

At the time, the gang members impersonated investigative agencies or encouraged the use of low-interest loan products and asked victims for money, and it was found that Mr. A received cash from the victims and gave it to the voice phishing organization.

Mr. A denied the charges, saying that he was hired by a company after posting his resume on a job search site to look for a job, and that the company was a voice phishing organization.

At the same time, he claimed that he only responded because he thought it was a part-time job to collect sales money from shopping mall customers who wanted to pay in cash, and that he was not aware of the crime at all.

The first trial sentenced him to two years in prison, saying, “Recruitment took place without specific procedures such as interviews,” and “Considering that the money delivered was also a large amount, it cannot be considered as payment for general goods.”

He also added, “I was vaguely aware that I was participating in a voice phishing crime.”

Dissatisfied with this, both the prosecution and Mr. A appealed.

The prosecution argued that the sentence handed down was light because there were multiple victims, and emphasized that Mr. A had no intention, saying he committed the act after being deceived by the company.

The appellate court ruled that Mr. A’s appeal had merit.

The court said, "Because the scale of voice phishing damage is significant, the guilt of the defendant who participated as a cash collection scheme cannot be taken lightly," but added, "Given the defendant's lack of social experience, it appears that he was deceived by members of the voice phishing organization."

He then stated the reason for sentencing, saying, "Therefore, it is difficult to say that the defendant knew the entire story of the crime and participated in the crime with active intent. In addition, it is confirmed that he repaid the victims and that the profits he obtained were not large compared to the amount of damage."

Lawyer Seo Bong-ha of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, "Mr. A contributed to the crime of voice phishing by receiving cash from victims and delivering it to the organization," but added, "It appears that the sentence was reduced as it was recognized that there was no active intention in that he was deceived by a criminal organization and took the cash collection job thinking it was a part-time job."

Reporter Jeong Eui-jin (jej88@ikbc.co.kr)

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"I was fooled too" voice phishing collection plan...'sentence reduced' after appeal (shortcut)