If found guilty the former chairman of South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb could be sentenced to jail for a maximum of eight years over the alleged $70m fraud.
According to a report from Yonhap News Agency, local prosecutors sought the Seoul District Court for the Bithumb sentence on October 25, and the sentencing hearing will take place on December 20.
In October 2018 while negotiating for Gun to buy the Bithumb exchange, it is alleged that Jung-hoon scammed Kim Byung Gun, chairman of the cosmetic surgery company BK Group, of $100 billion won, or $70 million.
Gun claims that he gave Jung-hoon $70 million as a “down payment” for the exchange in exchange for Jung-hoon allowing the exchange to list the BXA token produced by the Blockchain Exchange Alliance, which Gun assisted in founding.
The acquisition would have purportedly been partially funded by the proceeds from the token sale, however, Bithumb failed to do so and the deal fell through.
According to reports, Jung-attorney hoon’s said in defense that the case’s structure was typical of stock sale contracts and that it was carried out faithfully in accordance with industry standards for such contracts.
In his closing remarks to the court, Jung-hoon expressed his sincere regret for “making life tough for employees and inflicting social pressure.”
Earlier this month, Jung-hoon excused his absence from a legislative hearing on the $40 billion destruction of the Terra ecosystem by claiming that he had a panic problem.
