Employee Who Stole $2.8m from Company to Buy Crypto Gets 5-year Jail Term

Legal South Korea

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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June 26, 2023

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A South Korean company employee whole stole over $2.8 million worth of his firm’s money to buy crypto has been handed a five-year prison sentence.

Yonhap reported that the criminal branch of the District Court in the city of Daegu found the employee – who was not named for legal reasons – guilty of charges of embezzling funds from the company (also unnamed). The firm produces devices for the medical industry, and the convicted employee was identified as male and in his 30s. The man was described as a manager who worked in the firm’s accountancy department.

The court heard that the employee embezzled funds on 57 separate occasions, making for a total of just over $2.8 million. On one occasion, the man transferred $21,000 to his wife’s account to pay off a debt.

Staffer Stole $2.8m from Company’s Salary Fund to Buy Crypto

The man appears to have been in charge of managing employee payrolls and enjoyed “freedom” in making use of the company’s accounts. The court heard that the man had used the funds to invest in “cryptocurrencies, as well as stocks.”

But the court also heard that the man appears to have made some had gone questionable crypto buying choices with his stolen loot – as he had also filed for bankruptcy.

Police stepped in to arrest the man in March this year after the firm began to suspect that something was amiss – and relayed their suspicions to the local police station.

Officers investigated and found evidence that the man had begun embezzling company money for at least 12 months.

The presiding judge was quoted as stating that the man had since “paid back” some of the money he stole and “showed remorse” for his actions. But the court added that the man should serve five years behind bars due to the “nature of the crimes” he had committed – and the fact that he had abused the trust of his employer and colleagues.

Last month, a court in Seoul also sentenced a crypto fraudster who tricked victims out of some $1.7 million worth of bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and fiat to five years in jail.