Skip to main content

Korean fugitive captured in Los Angeles area returned to South Korea Target allegedly perpetrated $100 million fraud scheme

LOS ANGELES - A South Korean national wanted in his native country for a fraud scheme that cost victims more than $100 million was turned over to South Korean law enforcement representatives at the airport in Seoul Wednesday by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Korean National Police Agency.

Korean fugitive captured Kyochung Lee returned to Seoul, South Korea Kyochung Lee was returned to South Korea by commercial aircraft, accompanied by officers from the ICE's Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and the Korean National Police Agency. The 55-year-old is the subject of an Interpol fugitive notice published in Feb. that alleges he defrauded unspecified victims of the equivalent of $116 million in U.S. currency. According to the Interpol notice, the fraud occurred in 2006. The Seoul Central Public Prosecutor's Office, which is handling the case, issued a warrant for Lee's arrest in Feb. 2010. Two months later, ICE databases indicate Lee entered the United States on a visitor's visa, allowing him to remain here for three months.

Lee's repatriation comes just three months after his capture by ICE ERO and officers assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Task Force. He was taken into custody on administrative immigration violations at his Temecula, Calif., apartment in Jan. In March, Lee appeared before an immigration judge who granted him voluntary departure with security precautions.

"Foreign fugitives who believe they can flee to the United States and find refuge here are finding out otherwise," said Timothy S. Robbins, field office director for ICE ERO in Los Angeles. "ICE is working closely with law enforcement agencies here and abroad to ensure our international borders are not barriers to bringing criminals to justice. Our goal is not only to see criminal suspects held accountable for their actions, but to protect law-abiding citizens here and overseas."

Robbins noted the repatriation of growing numbers of foreign fugitives captured in this country shows the significant public safety benefits of expanded cooperation and communication between the Department of Homeland Security and foreign law enforcement agencies.

Since April 2009, ICE ERO officers nationwide have coordinated the removal of more than 175 foreign nationals being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

15 Gang Members Convicted on Conspiracy, Weapons Possession, Firearms Trafficking Charges Case Follows Recent Convictions of 137th Street Crew and East Harlem Narcotics Trafficking Organization

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the results of the investigation and prosecution of one of Central Harlem’s most destructive criminal street gangs, referred to as “ONE TWENTY-NINE” or “GOODFELLAS/THE NEW DONS,” which terrorized the neighborhood surrounding West 129th Street between Lenox and Fifth Avenues. Thirteen members of the gang have previously pleaded guilty to importing, possessing, and using firearms over the course of the conspiracy.

Mortgage Fraud

Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the indictment of 13 individuals and a mortgage origination company for perpetrating over $100 million in mortgage fraud over a four-year period in the New York City metropolitan area. In addition, 12 individuals have already waived indictment and pleaded guilty to felonies relating to their participation in the mortgage fraud scheme. The indictment charges 13 individuals and the mortgage company, AFG FINANCIAL GROUP, INC., with enterprise corruption, grand larceny, scheme to defraud and conspiracy involving 19 fraudulent mortgage transactions. The defendants include the principals and a number of employees of the mortgage company, as well as bank employees, appraisers, and three attorneys. Two other attorneys are among the defendants who already pleaded guilty. The crimes charged in the indictment occurred between June 2004 and April 2009 with the bulk of the fraudulent closings occurring from mid-2005 through the end of...

DISTRICT ATTORNEY VANCE ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF SIX SUBCONTRACTING COMPANIES AND THEIR OWNERS IN MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR FRAUD

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictments of six subcontracting companies and their owners for colluding with LEHR CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION (LEHR) in a multimillion dollar scheme that defrauded numerous construction clients over the past decade. See, related story. The announcement comes one day after DA Vance announced LEHR and four executives were indicted on crimes including Enterprise Corruption, the New York State Racketeering law. GODSELL CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION and its owner ARTHUR GODSELL are charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree. JT ROSELLE LIGHTING, INC. and its owner JAMES ROSELLE, LIBERTY CONTRACTING CORPORATION and its owners GEORGE FOTIADIS and KEVIN FOTIADIS, PJ MECHANICAL and its owner JAMES PAPPAS, SUPERIOR ACOUSTICS, INC. and its owner KENNETH MCGUIGAN, and SWEENEY & HARKIN CARPENTRY and its owner MICHAEL HAYES are charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree.[1] "The defendants in this case cheated clie...