Man accused of fraud arrested after prosecutors find he allegedly submitted falsified documents to court
Published: 11 Feb. 2026, 14:40
Updated: 11 Feb. 2026, 15:54
![A man in handcuffs [GETTY IMAGES]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/11/ca2ac555-e19b-4fd7-8c28-c7dff60fb85e.jpg)
A man in handcuffs [GETTY IMAGES]
A man accused of attracting investors using false information was detained after prosecutors found in a supplementary investigation that he had allegedly fooled a court with AI-generated documents.
The Busan Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office indicted the 27-year-old suspect on Friday on charges including fraud and forging private documents, after he allegedly swindled about 320 million won ($220,000) in investment funds and submitted a falsified bank balance certificate to investigators.
The suspect is accused of using AI to create fake images, such as a medical license and cryptocurrency holding statements, to lure investors from August to October last year. Through the scheme, he pocketed 320 million won for himself.
After being caught, the suspect promised to repay the amount in full, and the court dismissed an arrest warrant.
A month after the court ruling, prosecutors began a supplementary investigation and discovered that the suspect hadn't repaid the funds.
Prosecutors noted the suspect had also used AI to forge his Korean medical licensing examination certificate. This prompted them to question the authenticity of the suspect's bank statements.
The prosecution found that the man had forged his bank statements, discovering a real bank balance of only 23 won . The suspect had also presented similarly forged documents to the presiding judge, the prosecutor and the victims.
Prosecutors subsequently secured a new arrest warrant and indicted the suspect under detention.
“The defendant submitted fake AI-generated images that were nearly impossible to distinguish with the naked eye, and even deceived the judge,” a prosecution official said.
“Through the prosecutor’s supplementary investigation, we corrected the court’s misjudgment and uncovered additional crimes.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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