TV
Heejin Lee, the truth about the 43.1 billion fraudster
'Black 2', which aired on the 6th, first introduced Lee Hee-jin, a 'Cheongdam-dong stock rich' who became popular between 2014 and 2016 when the words 'Hell Joseon' and 'N-po generation' were popular. He described himself as a 'successful young man in his 30s' and boasted of his extravagant lifestyle, including a supercar and a luxurious mansion with a swimming pool in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, on social media. In addition, in the stock broadcast he hosts, he opens people's hearts by showing friendliness with the words 'our members' and 'family', and says that 'over-the-counter stocks', which are unlisted stocks that are not recognized by the government, will be listed, making investment like gambling. recommended. To instill trust, he said, “I really haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like me. “All the CEOs like it,” he said, enticing investors by saying that he could find out high-quality information through his “connections.” Jeong Seong-ho (pseudonym), a victim of Lee Hee-jin’s fraud, explained, “I started to have more expectations and hopes because I heard that I was ranked first on Korea’s No. 1 securities broadcast.”
In addition, Lee Hee-jin shook the hearts of investors by promising that even if there was a loss, she would 'ride on' with her own assets and 'preserve the principal'. Accordingly, a cumulative total of about 5,000 paid members paid a lifetime membership fee ranging from 500,000 won per month to as much as 15 million won, giving Lee Hee-jin a monthly profit of at least 2.5 billion won. And Lee Hee-jin took advantage by trading about 344 billion won in unlisted stocks through three unauthorized financial investment companies, Mirae Investment Partners, Keiron Investment, and Prime Investment Partners, created in the names of relatives and acquaintances, and was eventually sent to the prosecution and sentenced to death. lived.
However, Lee Hee-jin's parents are brutally murdered while Lee Hee-jin is on trial. Lee Hee-jin claimed innocence during the trial and mocked the victims, so it was naturally assumed that someone among the victims had committed the crime, but the culprit was Kim Da-un, who committed the crime by coveting Lee Hee-jin's hidden property. He broke into Lee Hee-jin's parents' house with two accomplices, brutally murdered them, and ran away with a bundle of 500 million won in cash earned from selling Lee Hee-jin's supercar, but was eventually caught. Perhaps due to the influence of this incident, Lee Hee-jin's sentence was reduced to 3 years and 6 months in prison in the second trial, and she was released in March 2020. However, Lee Hee-jin's coin fraud was later revealed and she is being investigated by the prosecution and ordered not to leave the country.
Meanwhile, Lee Bo-ram (pseudonym), who has garnered a lot of sympathy among housewives and is a 'stock-selling injumma' on social media, is known to earn an average of 4 million won a day through small single-term transactions, and has 26,000 followers. Lee Bo-ram gained trust among housewives with her daily photos with her family, and naturally posted trading records mixed with stock terminology. It became even more popular when profits, which started from 300,000 to 400,000 won per day, exceeded 100 units. He led investors who came to him through personal messages in a friendly tone to make personal investments, saying, “I will return the principal plus 10%,” and expanded his reach to include alumni. As the total fraud damage over the past four years reached 32.1 billion won and the situation grew, SNS was made private to silence suspicions of fraud.
As the stock investment craze broke out in the aftermath of COVID-19, paid 'stock lectures' worth 3.3 million won per person were attempted several times in 2021. However, Lee Bo-ram began to be embroiled in fraud suspicions that year when he failed to respond to a request for profit account video verification raised by another stock YouTuber. However, Lee Bo-ram avoided this with bold words and actions, mentioning 'Lee Hee-jin', a wealthy Cheongdam stock scammer, saying, "Is she Lee Hee-jin? She disclosed all of her personal information like that, and you know what the consequences are if you commit fraud." However, when Lee Bo-ram's acquaintances who helped Bo-ram unexpectedly visited and checked his account, it was revealed that there was no transaction history and that all the flashy investment details were fabricated. He was later sentenced to eight years in prison following the prosecution of his victims, but is currently appealing.
Next, 'Black 2' introduced fraud methods carried out through social media. An influencer who is famous as the owner of a group purchasing cafe opened a cafe where only a few people could enter and swindled money by saying that they would group buy 'gold bars' at half price. Influencers who boasted about being VIPs of high-end luxury brands also made joint purchases with fake products. Although the items were diverse, the intention was the same. Scammers gradually build trust in a friendly manner by touching individuals' desires with false images. After creating a sense of impatience that made the victim feel like he was being left out, he extorted the victim the moment he was convinced of success. 'Black 2' announced this three-stage pattern and urged people not to be fooled by the appearance of scammers.
Meanwhile, 'Black 2: Soul Destroyers', a crime documentary thriller that introduces vicious crimes that destroy the souls of victims, is broadcast every Saturday at 10:40 pm on Channel A.
Reporter Junho Yoon, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr
