Korean Crypto Millionaire Duped Into Paying $2.3M BTC for Fake Euro Notes

By Sumedha Bose

BTC Wires: A cryptocurrency millionaire from South Korea just suffered a massive loss, amounting to something close to $2.3 million, in what might be a sensational scam that turned out to be successful. The unnamed millionaire, who also happens to be the CEO of a cryptocurrency business, got duped into paying bitcoins worth  $2.3 million to the tricksters, in exchange of counterfeit Euro banknotes.

It is surprising how the fraudsters were able to trick a man of his stature and knowledge into giving in to such a flawed deal. So this is how the scam went down. The tricksters convinced the businessman that they were potential investors and they expressed interest in investing in his company. They struck a deal with him which stated that they would exchange his bitcoins for Euros.   

The next part of the plan was executed in France. The businessman was asked to meet the ‘investors’ in a luxury hotel in Nice, France. The exchange took place as scheduled. The businessman soon found out that the banknotes were nothing but photo edited banknotes of €500.

The local police was immediately informed and they were able to track down one of the culprits. When brought to court at his first hearing, the perpetrator confessed that he is part of a larger organization which works in the organized crime network.

As for the money, a part of it was spent on a luxury sports car and a watch. The whereabouts of the rest of the cash is still unknown.