A South Korean YouTuber known for exposing crimes and helping victims of illegal auto loans has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of fraud and extortion.
The 34-year-old creator, identified by local media as Lim, built an audience of around 570,000 subscribers by covering alleged crimes and social issues. But prosecutors said he was also involved in a large-scale scheme exploiting South Korea’s used-car financing system.
Authorities accused Lim of using severely damaged vehicles with little actual value to obtain loans. Some cars had been involved in accidents that were never reported to insurers, meaning the damage did not appear in official vehicle history records.
Prosecutors said Lim recruited acquaintances to pose as buyers and secured installment loans in their names. Between April and December 2023, the operation allegedly generated around 3.06 billion won, or roughly $2.2 million.
He was also accused of borrowing another 1.63 billion won by claiming the money would be used to buy and resell expensive imported cars. Investigators said the funds were instead used for other purposes.
The Seoul Central District Court estimated total losses from the fraud at approximately 4.69 billion won, or about $3.4 million.
Lim was additionally convicted of extorting 620 million won from a business partner. Prosecutors said he threatened to publish damaging allegations about the partner on YouTube unless he received payment.
The court found that Lim played a leading role in the scheme and described the scale of the financial damage as serious. Judges also considered his partial admission of wrongdoing, expressions of remorse, and repayments to some victims.
Lim had been released on bail in October 2025 while the case continued, but was taken back into custody after receiving his seven-year sentence.