Crypto exchange Bitsonic executives convicted of $7.5M theft: Report
The CEO of crypto exchange Bitsonic has been sentenced to seven years in prison, while the firm's chief technology officer has been sentenced to one year in prison for stealing 10 billion South Korean won ($7.5 million) in customer deposits.
On February 6, South Korean media Yonhap news agency reported that the Seoul District Court had sentenced Jinwook Shin to seven years in prison. In the year He was arrested on August 7, 2023 and charged with fraud, forgery and falsifying records and obstructing business by computer.
Bitsonic's vice president of technology – reported only as Mr. A – has been sentenced to one year in prison on charges of disrupting business through computers.
The court said that trust in crypto exchanges was “severely damaged” by Shin and Mr. A, saying that the couple “avoided responsibility and showed no remorse.”
He added that a “significant amount” of customer funds had not been returned.
The court said that between January 2019 and May 2021, Shin used Bitsonic funds to buy his own tokens, artificially inflating the exchange rate.
He also deposited fake won into the currency system to make it look like he deposited it in cash. Mr. A created a program that bought the cryptocurrency held by Shin.
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Shin also posted a false ad on Bitsonic in partnership with another international exchange.
Shin embezzled $7.5 million in client funds and the scheme failed when investors were unable to withdraw their money and cryptocurrency.
Bitsonic shut down operations in August 2021, saying it had “internal and external issues”.
Meanwhile, on February 6, Seoul's prosecutor's office arrested the CEO and two other executives of crypto product platform Haru Invest, which halted its June 2023 exit.
Prosecutors have alleged that they stole 1.1 trillion won ($830 million) worth of crypto from 16,000 users, most of it between March 2020 and June 2023.
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