A licensed real estate agent who brokered a large number of buildings for lease fraud was punished 'with a soft bat'.
It is difficult to return the deposit, but reality is indicted only for 'violation of the real estate agent law'. Fine expert says, "It is difficult to prove accomplices... The level of punishment under the real estate agent law must be increased." In Busan, real estate agents and real estate assistants who were put on trial on charges of brokering a large number of buildings for lease fraud were sentenced to fines one after another. There are many voices demanding that those who provided the primary cause of the lease fraud be severely punished, but the reality is that only fines are imposed, raising criticism that the punishment should be strengthened. According to the legal community, on the 26th, Judge Beom-yong Lee of the 4th Eastern Branch of the Busan District Court sentenced five people, including a real estate agent A and a real estate agent assistant, to fines of 2 million to 7 million won each, who were indicted on charges of violating the Licensed Real Estate Act. While working as a licensed real estate agent and a brokerage assistant, the return of the deposit is not guaranteed as there is collateral for an officetel worth the price of the building, but he is accused of inducing a provisional contract by hiding this fact during the brokerage process. Afterwards, when the tenants learned about this fact on the day of the contract, Mr. A and others are accused of deceiving them again by saying, "The sale price of the officetel building is over 8 billion won, so there is no problem with returning the deposit." However, the appraised value of the building in question is 4.8 billion to 5.3 billion won. In comparison, the basic mortgage amounted to 5.2 billion won. In fact, Mr. B (40s), the officetel landlord brokered by Mr. A and others, did not return the 1.745 billion won rental deposit of 17 tenants, and the tenants introduced by them became victims of a lease fraud overnight. In addition, Mr. A and others were involved in a 18 billion won lease fraud with a group of Mr. C (40s), a 15.5 billion won lease fraudster. It is known that they also brokered dozens of buildings in the case of Mr. D (female in his 50s), who was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In this process, Mr. A and others are said to have reassured tenants by saying things like, "Mr. C's father is the CEO of a successful small business, so it is safe" or "There are several other buildings besides here. All senior loans are held by a corporation, so they are safe," and then induced them to sign real estate contracts. Afterwards, the tenants tried to sue them, but at the time of signing the contract for 2020-2023. It is known that as recordings of conversations or messages shared with licensed real estate agents disappear over time, they either failed to file a complaint, or even if they filed a complaint, most of them were acquitted. Previously, in March, Criminal Division 3 of the Western Branch of the Busan District Court sentenced real estate agents and brokerage assistants who were indicted on charges of violating the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act to fines of 2 to 5 million won. They are also known to have brokered many of the buildings in Mr. D's case, but the brokerage assistants brokered the buildings in the name of the licensed real estate agent. He was only indicted on the charge and was only punished with a fine. Victims of jeonse fraud claim that the real estate agents who provided the primary cause of the jeonse fraud should also be punished as accomplices in the jeonse fraud, but the reality is not easy. Attorney Lee Seung-chan of the Daeryun Law Firm said, “The essence of the crime of large-scale jeonse fraud is ‘fraud.’ Therefore, in order to punish a licensed real estate agent as a principal or accomplice to fraud, it must be proven that it falls under the elements of the crime of fraud, but in reality, intentionality of the fraud must be proven. “It is very difficult to prove,” he explained. “For this reason, it is not easy to punish real estate agents or assistant real estate agents who brokered a large number of buildings for lease fraud as accomplices to lease fraud.” Experts suggested raising the level of punishment under the Licensed Real Estate Act as a realistic alternative. Dong-A University Graduate School of Real Estate Kang Jeong-gyu said, “Although it is a small number, there are cases where some vicious real estate agents are abusing lease fraud,” adding, “(Jeonse fraud) crimes will be investigated in the future.” “In the interest of prevention, there is a need to strengthen the punishment provisions of the Licensed Real Estate Agent Act, and if similar cases continue to occur, there is an alternative to creating detailed punishment provisions in the Licensed Real Estate Agent Act to provide for aggravated punishment in cases related to jeonse fraud.” Reporter Kwon Tae-wan (kwon97@newsis.com)[View full article]
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