I’m sorry, but I didn’t mean it?”–Mother of three cries as she gets 10 years in prison for chartering scam

Is it possible to buy a house without spending a dime?토토사이트 When house prices and sublet prices were rising at the same time, this was a common practice, especially in villas. It was called “gap investing.” A landlord would buy a house with a rental deposit from a tenant. He hopes to capitalize on the price appreciation in two years or so. The tenant pays a security deposit that is equal to or even higher than the sale price. You don’t know what’s going on, because the market value of the villa is unclear, and no one explains it to the tenant.

Now, two years later, the value of the house has dropped and the landlord doesn’t have the money to return the security deposit to the tenant. How do we define this situation? Is it a “business failure” or a “fraud” by the landlord who tried to make a zero-gap investment? If a landlord bought 500 houses for zero and was unable to return about 80 billion won in deposits to over 300 tenants, would it be considered a simple business failure? This is the story of the “Three Mother-Daughter Rental Scam,” which shocked the world when one family owned hundreds of villas in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, with no capital.

A view of the villa cluster in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, where many victims of the charter scam were found. Reporter Han Soo-bin

On the 24th of this month, the fifth charter scam victim passed away. In the courtroom of Seoul Central District Court No. 408 in Seocho-gu, Seoul, the mother, Kim Mo, the ringleader of the three mother-daughter charter fraud case, sat in the defendant’s seat. The nearly year-long trial was nearing its conclusion. Throughout the day, Ms. Kim had a furrowed brow and closed eyes. The prosecutor had asked for a 10-year prison sentence, saying, “Please give the victims a severe sentence that they can live with.”

“Responsible, but not intentional”…’Intentional’ to determine fraud conviction

Throughout the trial, Kim’s position remained the same: he was sorry that he couldn’t return the security deposit, but he didn’t intentionally try to defraud the tenant. In his closing argument, Kim’s defense attorney said, “I’m sorry that he didn’t return the security deposit amicably, and I’m not denying his civil liability,” but he also said, “I want you (the jury) to look again at whether there was deception on his part.”

Whether there was fraud – that is, whether Kim deceived the tenant or had the intent to deceive in the first place – is a key issue in this case. This is the point that separates the gray area of “rental fraud” from “nonreturn of deposit” – Kim’s defense is that it was an unexpected and unfortunate “accident” that occurred due to falling property values, and not a “scam” where she intentionally defrauded her tenants.

Mr. Kim is not convinced by the prosecution’s case. Kim was not the one who signed the contract directly with the victim because he inherited the landlord position, and he never met the victim, so it was not possible for him to deceive. He also claims that the tenant’s rental deposit was paid to the building owner, so Kim did not steal anything.

Prosecution “accidentally met Mr. Kim and caused great damage…it is difficult to recover the damage” Seeks 10 years in prison

The prosecution, on the other hand, dismisses Kim’s claims, saying, “We have submitted enough evidence of his guilt so far,” and that “Kim’s deceptive behavior clearly exists.” The prosecution focuses on the fact that Kim colluded with the new villa sales agency from the beginning. They organized the scheme, recruited tenants, and collected rental deposits that exceeded the sales price, all the while sharing some of the deposits with the agency as “kickbacks.” In addition to Kim, the agency’s CEO, the head of the sales team, and Kim’s two daughters are also charged as co-conspirators.

Explanation of the type of no-capital gap investment charter fraud. Courtesy of the National Police Agency.

The prosecution emphasized that “the victims are ordinary people who need the protection of the state and the judicial system.” In ordinary fraud cases, victims are usually victimized while engaging in economic activities such as investing in pursuit of profit, but the victims in this case are different. “The victims entered into a lease agreement without any greed in order to secure housing, which is the minimum requirement for survival, and were greatly damaged by the coincidental circumstance that the landlord was Mr. Kim,” the prosecution said.

“This is a very special case, and the number of victims and the amount of damages are quite large, and the crime itself is very serious in that it is difficult to recover the intrinsic damage,” the prosecutor said, adding, “It is a representative case that has been named the three mother-daughter rental fraud, and the sentence will be talked about, so there is no doubt that an appropriate sentence should be imposed.” The prosecutor asked for 10 years in prison.

“I never meant to do anything bad,” Kim sobbed…sincerity or crocodile tears?

“I’m so sorry for the victims,” Kim sobbed before closing the trial, “but when I was raising my children and living abroad for about nine years, I told them that I wanted to come back to Korea and start a rental business in their name, and later contribute all this money to a small scholarship foundation and work for a salary from it…..”

A tearful Kim’s main point was that he had no intention of doing so: he owned two apartments worth 5 billion won at the time, so if he had problems with his rental business, he could sell them to solve them, and he had returned the security deposits of more than 100 homes. He also argued that he had faithfully paid taxes amounting to 2 billion won a year to prevent the houses where his tenants lived from being foreclosed.

Seoul Central District Court / Reporter Kim Young-min

“I was just trying to do good in the name of my children, and I never planned to do anything bad from the beginning,” Kim said, adding, “I taught my children that honor is the most important thing, and I’m so sorry that it came to this, and I never thought that I would ruin their lives like this.”

“I can’t get a bank loan, I can’t get a new tenant, I can’t buy or sell, and it’s been so hard, but…. I’ve come to this day, I’ve been lied to, I’ve never lived, and even though they took my money, I didn’t mean to do them wrong, and I’m so heartbroken to see how it came to this.”

“I hope there are no other victims like me” Victims on the witness stand…July 12, first trial sentencing

For many victims, Kim’s closing statement was a mixed bag. They tried to make it work.