The building owner committed rent fraud by hiding the debt... 2 years and 6 months in prison

Acting as an agent as if he were not the owner... The senior deposit was also falsely announced.
The court said, “There are no measures to recover from the damage…there is a need for severe punishment.”

A building owner who committed a lease fraud by hiding the debt and acting as an agent was sentenced to prison.

On the 1st of last month, the Changwon District Court Jinju Branch sentenced Mr. A, in his 40s, to two years and six months in prison, who was indicted on charges of fraud.

Mr. A, who was the building owner, was accused of stealing about 400 million won in deposits from five tenants, including Mr. B, over a period of about a year starting in 2021, despite being unable to repay the deposit due to mortgage debt.

As a result of the investigation, it was revealed that Mr. A had entered into a lease agreement as an agent by appointing a third party as the landlord, and that he had also falsely notified the senior deposit in the process.

During the trial, Mr. A refuted that since some buildings had sufficient collateral value, it did not constitute a crime of fraud even if he disclosed less of the senior deposit.

The court sentenced Mr. A to prison. The court said, “Even if the appraised value of the building is sufficient, the actual successful bid price may be much lower after going through the auction process,” and added, “The fact that the defendant reduced the amount of the senior deposit and notified it proves that there was an evaluation that the collateral value was insufficient.”

He added, “The amount of damage exceeds 400 million won, and no measures have been taken to recover the damage. They are denying the indictment for some crimes, so there is a need to severely punish them.”

Attorney Lee Seong-cheol of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. B in this case, explained, “Some of the victims, including Mr. B, experienced great difficulties as they were defrauded at a time when they were just starting out in society and had to establish themselves. Based on Mr. A’s mortgage and other debts, we were able to obtain a prison sentence by proving that he had no intention or ability to return the money from the time of the contract.”

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

[View full article]
Building owner commits lease fraud by hiding debt... 2 years and 6 months in prison (link)