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Sentences upheld for crime ring who posed as sex workers to swindle $573,000

Published: 04 Sep. 2025, 16:53

SHIN MIN-HEE
[email protected]

Close up of a court mallet [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

A criminal ring that stole personal data by posing as workers at adult entertainment establishments and used it to blackmail customers out of millions of won has been handed prison sentences on appeal again.

According to the Gwangju District Court on Thursday, four members of the ring were found guilty of multiple charges including extortion. A 31-year-old man was sentenced to five years in prison, a 25-year-old woman to three years and two months, and two others, a 32-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, to three years each.

They were convicted of forming a crime syndicate targeting clients of such venues and extorting more than 800 million won ($573,800) between March and August of last year using highly organized methods.

The 31-year-old ringleader and his accomplices infiltrated the establishments as employees in areas including Wonju, Gangwon, where they would secretly collect customers’ phone numbers and other personal data.

They also illegally collected data by hiring a hacker to plant malicious software on the computers of 12 adult entertainment establishments.

Afterward, they divided roles and made random calls to the clients. They would threaten the victims by saying they'd been caught in sex-related raids involving minors and demanded hush money in exchange for erasing records.

Hundreds fell victim to the fraud.

The ringleader would reward the other ring members from the share of the proceeds as “incentives” if they succeeded the extortion.

A lower court ruled that a strict punishment was necessary because the defendants had "repeatedly carried out systematic extortion" such as the spread of malware.

On appeal, however, they were acquitted of the malware-related charges due to a lack of evidence specifying the system or method of intrusion.

Still, the appellate court upheld the prison terms.

"The defendants actively participated in the crimes though some reached settlements with victims. Taking all factors into account, the sentences are set accordingly," the court said.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]