South Korean Authorities Arrest 215 in $231 Million Cryptocurrency Scam Involving Popular YouTuber

South Korean authorities have arrested 215 people in connection with a massive cryptocurrency investment scam. This operation allegedly defrauded thousands of victims.

According to Yonhap News, the suspects, including a YouTuber with 620,000 subscribers, collected about 325.6 billion won, which is around $231 million. They lured in 15,304 individuals with promises of high returns on their crypto investments.

The YouTuber, known as Mr. A, and his team are accused of running fake investment consulting firms. They reportedly told victims they could make profits up to 20 times their investments.

Most of the victims are middle-aged or elderly. Many were advised to sell their homes or take out loans to invest in cryptocurrency. Some lost as much as 1.2 billion won, which is about $852,520 each.

The scheme involved 28 cryptocurrencies. Six of these were created by the suspects and listed on foreign exchanges through brokers. The other assets had low trading volumes and little value.

The police have called this the largest coin investment fraud case in history. An official warned investors to be cautious of similar schemes.

“If high profits are guaranteed through non-face-to-face investment recommendations, it’s likely a scam,” the official stated. “Please be especially careful.”

Mr. A was arrested after trying to escape to Australia via Hong Kong and Singapore. Authorities seized 22 Bitcoin (BTC) and 47.8 billion won, which is about $34 million.