Scammer rips off millions posing as heiress

By Lee Han-soo

A woman who ripped off millions of won posing as an heiress has been jailed.

The woman, surnamed Ma, 39, was sentenced to five years in prison.

According to the Seoul Southern District Court on Tuesday, Ma scammed over 10 men posing as an heiress.

Some of her scams included approaching a man in 2011 and posing as a child related to a Korean conglomerate who was born out of wedlock.

Ma scammed the man out of 800 million won ($701,000) over an alleged lawsuit concerning her inheritance.

In 2013, she scammed another man of 115 million won after posing as the daughter from a large stock firm who was going through an inheritance suit worth 300 billion won.

Ma’s total fraud is estimated at over 1.9 billion won.

During the prosecutor’s investigation, it was revealed she was not a child born out of wedlock from a conglomerate or an heiress.

“The damage she caused and her criminal methods posing as an heiress are very serious,” the court said in a ruling statement. “Taking into consideration she has had numerous convictions for fraud in the past, her crimes are not light.”