A man in his 50s was arrested for scamming 8.5 million USD from investors claiming high investment returns from producing BTS pictorials

A man in his 50s was arrested for stealing more than 10 billion KRW (~8,584,805 USD), claiming that he would guarantee high profits from producing pictorials of BTS.

The Jeju Eastern Police Station announced on September 21, that they have arrested Mr. Ko, a 57-year-old representative of an investment company in Seoul on charges of deception and extorting investment money. He has deceived his investors that they will receive high investment returns if they invested in the production of BTS pictorials.

Also, four employees of a third-party recruitment company have also been booked on the same charges.

According to police, Mr. Ko is suspected of setting up an office in Jeju Island and taking a total of over 10 billion KRW from 70 investors from March 2018 until recently.

It has been confirmed that Mr. Ko promised to pay 20 percent of the annual profits as well as guarantee a principal if the investor invested in a BTS pictorial production project. He reassured the victims by showing them pictorial samples while recruiting them through a third-party recruitment company.

It has also been confirmed that Mr. Ko has never invested in the production of the pictorial for BTS nor is producing actual pictorials for the boy group.

With the money he received from investors, Mr. Ko spent 1 billion KRW (858,000 USD) in paying off his personal debt and spent the rest on the third-party recruitment company fees, his living expenses, and on his personal enjoyment and pleasures. 

The police launched an investigation when a complaint was filed against Mr. Ko in early June. Mr. Ko was arrested at a hotel in Seoul on the afternoon of September 17 after Mr. Ko refused to respond to the summons.

The police requested an arrest warrant for Mr. Ko under the concerns he might possibly flee.

The police said, "The four employees of the third-party recruitment company are also claiming that they were deceived by Mr. Ko. They claimed they received investments by encouraging their own family members, acquaintances, and colleagues to invest in the project." The police are investigating the related contents of the investment, which claimed a high return.