Delio CEO Jeong Sang-ho sentenced to 15 years for crypto fraud

Jeong Sang-ho, the former CEO of the South Korean cryptocurrency platform Delio, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Seoul Southern District Court. The court found Jeong guilty of fraud and using forged documents to obtain a virtual asset service provider license.

Delio, which marketed itself as a ‘digital asset bank,’ promised users high interest rates on cryptocurrency deposits such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. In June 2023, the platform abruptly froze all user withdrawals, citing liquidity issues. The fraud resulted in losses of approximately 70 billion won (roughly 49.3 million USD) for users.

While prosecutors initially sought a 20-year sentence and brought charges involving a much larger sum of 175 billion won, the court acquitted Jeong of the largest fraud charge because central evidence was deemed to have been obtained illegally. Despite this, the court emphasized the severity of the proven crimes and the significant economic damage caused to victims. Jeong was taken into custody immediately following the verdict due to flight risks.