South Korean Woman Avoids Jail After Stealing Ex-husband’s $1.3m Crypto Stash

A woman uses a smartphone running a cryptocurrency exchange app. — Source: moon/Adobe

A South Korean woman who stole her ex-husband’s $1.3 million crypto stash has been handed a suspended jail sentence.

Per Yonhap News, an unnamed woman aged 32 stole the coins from her ex-partner’s crypto wallet after the end of their common-law marriage.

The 14th Criminal Division of the Incheon District Court found the woman guilty of violating the Act on the Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization.

The court also found her guilty of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

But the judge sentenced the woman to 18 months in prison, suspending the sentence for two years.

🇰🇷 South Korean Police Shut Down ‘International Crypto Fraud’ Ring, Freeze $1.2m

South Korean police have swooped on a group of suspected “international” crypto fraudsters, freezing over $12 million and arresting 49.#CryptoNews #SouthKoreahttps://t.co/pCMczM7YJy

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) November 8, 2023

How Did South Korean Woman Steal Ex’s $1.3m Crypto Stash?

The woman, a court heard, “broke into” her ex’s wallet “using a desktop PC at his home in Gangnam, Seoul.”

She then “transferred” the crypto holdings to a wallet she had created on a mobile phone.

The court also heard that the woman committed the crime “on the same day” that her common-law husband had ended their relationship.

Prosecutors explained that the duo had “been in a common-law marriage since the end of 2015” and had “raised two children together.”

The court ruled that the woman had “taken advantage of the trust” of her former partner to “steal a large amount of his property.”

Prosecutors said the woman and her partner had argued about how they should divide their shared belongings and assets before she stole the coins.

In sentencing, the presiding judge said that there were “some extenuating circumstances” that led the court to suspend her jail sentence.

Investigators were also able to confiscate the coins and return them to the woman’s former partner.

Earlier this year, a court in Ulsan gave a civil servant who stole thousands of dollars worth of public funds to pay for crypto investments a suspended jail sentence and two years of probation.

Last year, a South Korean government worker went on the run with $2.8 million worth of public funds reportedly used to make a series of crypto investments.