"Claimed He Didn't Know It Was a Crime" Yet Used a Burner Phone and Reset His Cellphone... Court Sentences Voice Phishing Cash Collector to 5 Years

A man who was put on trial on charges of delivering more than 1 billion won to a voice phishing organization while acting as its cash collector has been sentenced by the court to a prison term.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Court sentenced Mr. A to 5 years in prison in May on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Refund of Damage Caused by Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud.

Mr. A was put on trial on charges of embezzling 1.4 billion won from 11 victims including Mr. B in 2024 while acting as a mid-level collector for a voice phishing organization. Mr. A was found to have participated after receiving an offer from an acquaintance to pay compensation in exchange for delivering fraud-damage funds.

During the trial, Mr. A argued that he had never conspired with members of the voice phishing organization and did not know he was participating in the crime.

However, the court judged that Mr. A was aware that he was participating in the crime. This was because Mr. A received detailed work instructions from the organization via Telegram and used a burner phone provided by his acquaintance when doing the work.

The court found that Mr. A reset his personal cellphone after the crime and had even received prior training on how to respond if questioned by police. The fact that he delivered enormous sums amounting to more than a billion won without making any effort to check the source of the money and only pocketing commissions also served as grounds for finding him guilty.

The court stated as its reason for sentencing, "Since recovery of the damage has hardly been achieved and the victims are complaining of extreme suffering, severe punishment is inevitable."

Im Da-on, attorney of Daeryun LLC representing Mr. B, said, "A voice phishing collector's mere claim that he 'did not know it was a crime' cannot negate willful negligence. The court also appears to have sentenced him to actual imprisonment after comprehensively considering the objective circumstances showing he recognized the money as illegal funds, such as the use of a burner phone, and the enormous scale of the damage."

Reporter Jeong Cheol-wook

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"Claimed He Didn't Know It Was a Crime" Yet Used a Burner Phone and Reset His Cellphone... Court Sentences Voice Phishing Cash Collector to 5 Years (Go to link)