Three men were on Wednesday sentenced to prison terms of 20 to 25 years for defrauding jobseekers and working with an international criminal ring to launder more than NT$30 million (US$982,704).
The Keelung District Court sentenced Sun Wei-heng (孫瑋亨), 25, to 25 years in prison, and handed down respective 20-year and 21-year terms to his subordinates in the criminal operation, surnamed Hsu (許) and Tsai (蔡).
The three had published online ads posing as companies offering high pay. Over a period of two months, they interviewed 66 people for fraudulent job openings and thereby gained access to their bank accounts.
Prosecutors found that Sun, a Keelung resident, headed the operation and had hired the two others.
However, prosecutors said they are still searching for the suspected mastermind behind the operation, who initially hired Sun, paying him NT$40,000 per month.
After being tipped off, Keelung police carried out raids in June last year, seizing transaction records showing that the group had defrauded the jobseekers and transferred the money they stole to money laundering rings overseas.
The court convicted each of the three of 66 counts of aggravated financial fraud and for contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法).
Testimony from victims proved that the three operated the scheme, the court said.
Lawyer Tsai Chia-hao (蔡家豪) yesterday told reporters that “our government and the judicial authorities have strived to combat criminal rings involved in job scams, extortion and financial fraud that affected many people and caused them to lose significant amounts of money.”
Legal experts welcomed the “heavy sentences,” which will deter others from engaging in fraudulent activities, he added.
“We hope that other judges can take a cue from the ruling and also impose heavy sentences on those convicted of similar crimes,” Tsai Chia-hao said. “Only in so doing, we can instill fear in crime ring members and rein in crimes such as fraud, extortion and job scams.”
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