Seven sent to trial over 40.9 billion won crypto scam disguised as volunteer group

A group dubbed the Brilliance Team has been sent to trial in custody after allegedly running a roughly 40.9 billion won crypto investment scam while posing as a volunteer organization, Maeil Business Newspaper reported. South Korean prosecutors at the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office on July 24 indicted seven people in custody, including a Chinese man in his 50s identified only by his surname Kim as the ringleader and six South Korean members, on charges including organizing a criminal group and fraud. The defendants are accused of forming a fake volunteer group called the Brilliance Team from November 2024 to April this year, approaching victims and inducing them to invest in virtual assets, then stealing about 40.9 billion won from 436 people.