An employee in his 40s who embezzled 200 million won of company money by using corporate cards 1,348 times was sentenced to probation.

Used corporate card/account for personal purposes for 2 years… Prosecution of embezzlement at work
The court said, “Substantial financial loss was caused… Consideration of compensation, settlement, etc.”
 

The court issued a suspended sentence to an office worker who used 200 million won of company money for personal purposes.

On January 8, the Incheon District Court sentenced Mr. A, an office worker in his 40s who was put on trial for embezzlement and breach of trust, to one year and two months in prison and three years of probation.

Mr. A, who worked in the company's finance team, was handed over to trial on charges of unauthorized use of the company's corporate card 1,348 times over a two-year period starting in August 2021. In addition, he was also suspected of withdrawing money from the corporate account 92 times and using it for personal purposes.

As a result of the investigation, it was confirmed that the damage suffered by the company due to Mr. A's actions was close to 200 million won. Afterwards, Mr. A was fired from the company on the grounds of embezzlement of public funds.

Mr. A admitted to all charges. However, they argued that the company did not pay wages and severance pay, and that these should be excluded from the damage amount.

The court sentenced Mr. A to probation. The court said, “The defendant repeatedly used a corporate card and withdrew money from the account and used it for personal purposes,” adding, “This caused significant financial loss to the victim.”

However, the court stated the reason for sentencing, saying, “It appears that the amount owed to the defendant, including wages, was partially offset from the amount of damage,” and “We took into account the fact that the defendant repaid a portion of the amount to recover the damage and that the victim also wanted leniency through an amicable settlement.”

Attorney Lee Jae-hyung of Daeryun Law Firm (Limited), who represented Mr. A in this case, said, “Some of the card payments used by Mr. A without permission were work-related, so it was difficult to regard all the amounts as actual damages.” He added, “It appears that the suspended sentence was imposed taking into account the fact that Mr. A promised to recover damages.”

Reporter Kim Jong-cheol (jckim99@sportsseoul.com)

[View full article]
An employee in his 40s who embezzled 1,348 corporate credit cards and 200 million won in company money received probation (link)