BlockBeats News, January 8th, according to the Korean media News1, Lee Hee-jin, known as the “Cheongdam-dong Stock God,” has been transferred from the Seoul Gangnam Police Station to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Financial Crime Investigation Division for his alleged involvement in a virtual asset fraud case. Lee Hee-jin was previously sued by his partner, the representative of Pica Coin issuing company, for allegedly failing to pay approximately 1.88 billion Korean won in settlement as agreed. The lawsuit was later amended to claim that the total damages amounted to 28 billion Korean won (about 19.27 million U.S. dollars).
Lee Hee-jin was previously imprisoned for stock manipulation fraud and served a sentence from 2016 to 2020. After his release, he was suspected of manipulating behind the scenes of crypto projects such as Pica Coin. Pica Coin was a South Korean crypto project from 2020 to 2021 that touted fractionalized art investment. It claimed that investors could co-own famous artworks and earn high returns. The project was listed on South Korean exchanges such as Upbit but was soon exposed for alleged fraud. In June 2021, Upbit delisted Pica Coin.
