Man Who Posed as a "Building Owner" and Swindled Nurse Out of 98 Million Won Gets Suspended Sentence

A divorced man receiving basic livelihood assistance, he posed as a wealthy man

Swindled 98 million won under the pretexts of investment funds and hospital bills

"Several prior convictions for similar offenses... His culpability is not minor"

A man who began a romantic relationship with a nurse he met at a hospital, then pretended to be wealthy and swindled her out of tens of millions of won under the pretexts of investment funds and medical expenses, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years.

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Judge Lee Jungu of the Seoul Eastern District Court’s Criminal Division 7 said on the 14th that he had sentenced A, 49, who was indicted on fraud charges, to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years.

A was charged with swindling approximately 98 million won from B, whom he met in 2022 while receiving treatment at the nephrology department of a hospital in Seoul, where she worked as his nurse. The two became romantically involved, after which he allegedly took money from her under various pretexts.

A, a divorcee who received basic livelihood assistance and had no significant income or assets, lied to B that he was unmarried, an investor in a restaurant in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, and a wealthy man who owned a building in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, and an apartment in Gangnam-gu. He also pretended to run a solar module company with his father.

In May 2023, A allegedly told B, "If you invest in a business importing inexpensive suitcases from China for resale, I will guarantee your principal and pay you profits." He took a total of 52.8 million won from her in three installments, purportedly as investment funds. In June of the same year, he received 13.1 million won as a loan, claiming that funding for his father's company had been held up. In July, he swindled her out of 8.17 million won, saying he urgently needed money to repair a rental car he had been driving with B as a passenger after a minor collision.

In August and September of the same year, he also received 22 million won in two transfers, purportedly for stock investments through an investment expert, and used the money to pay his credit card bills and other expenses. In October, he swindled her out of an additional 2.35 million won by falsely saying, "I urgently need money for my mother's hospital bills. I have listed my apartment in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, with a real estate agency, so I'll pay you back when it sells."

Judge Lee said, "The defendant repeatedly deceived the victim, with whom he was in a romantic relationship, and misappropriated money under the pretexts of investment funds and loans. In light of the circumstances and details of the crime, his culpability is not minor. The total amount of damage was approximately 98 million won, a substantial sum; he has not received the victim's forgiveness, and he has a record of being punished several times for similar offenses. A punishment commensurate with his responsibility is therefore unavoidable."

However, the judge explained the reasons for the sentence, saying, "The court took into account in the defendant's favor that he admits to the crime and shows remorse, that a substantial portion of the victim's losses appears to have been recovered through repayment, and that the defendant is in poor health."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.