Investors are accusing several South Korean celebrities of engaging in a crypto fraud scheme as users struggle to withdraw funds.
The National Police Agency is investigating Winnerz, a blockchain sports platform, for alleged fraud.
South Korean influencers caught up in suspected crypto scam
According to a recent report, Winnerz is accused of bringing celebrities on board to increase the credibility and legitimacy of the project and bring more investors on board.
However, Winnerz primarily used YouTube celebrities who were able to bring the project to a large audience. However, almost all of the accused celebrities have vehemently denied having any involvement in the project.
Meanwhile, Kim Won-hoon and Cho Jin-se, hosts of the YouTube channel Shortbox with 2.85 million subscribers, publicly distanced themselves from the project.
“We would like to clarify that there have been no commercial or financial discussions or transactions with Choi Seung-jung and other relevant parties related to Winnerz controversies.”
South Korean YouTuber Oh Byeong-min. Source: Korea Herald
Meanwhile, popular Korean comedian Na Sun-uk has been accused of being linked to the crypto project. This came after he was reportedly spotted at Winnerz's year-end Christmas party.
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Na told his YouTube channel that he denies being associated with the Winnerz project.
“Both meetings were short meal occasions. I have no connection with Winnerz and would like to make it clear that I have never participated in any coin investment.”
However, South Korean authorities are cracking down on crypto fraud in the country.
South Korean authorities are cracking down on crypto fraud
Recently, BeInCrypto reported that South Korea sentenced a crypto exchange CEO to several years in prison for crypto fraud.
On February 7, Jinwook Shin, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitsonic, was sentenced to seven years in prison for manipulating the crypto market.
Read more: Crypto social media scams: How to stay safe
The allegations concerned an inflating of the exchange's operating profits. This resulted in more than $10 billion being drained from users, which is approximately $7.5 million.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have released several crypto traders accused of exploiting the price gap between local crypto exchanges and global exchanges, known as the kimchi premium.
They reportedly profited $3.2 billion from the 3% to 5% price difference.
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