Seoul court sentences Delio CEO to 15 years for $49.2M crypto fraud, acquits on larger $175M charge due to illegal evidence. The case ties to Haru Invest and FTX collapse.
South Korea sentenced Delio CEO Jeong Sang-ho to 15 years in prison after a Seoul court found him guilty of defrauding customers of about 70 billion won, or $49.2 million, in crypto assets.
According to local outlet Newsis, the Seoul Southern District Court convicted Jeong on charges of fraud and embezzlement, along with false-document violations in Delio's registration as a virtual asset service provider. Judge Jang Chan presided over the case and ordered Jeong detained after the ruling, citing the risk of flight, NoCut News reported.
The 15-year term fell short of the 20 years prosecutors had sought during closing arguments in April.
Jeong was acquitted of the main indictment involving roughly 250 billion won – $175.6 million – that prosecutors said was taken from about 2,800 customers. The court excluded evidence collected during a search and seizure involving a server operator because it had been obtained illegally, Newsis reported. That ruling cleared Jeong of the largest fraud allegation.
On the charges he was convicted of, the court described the offense as grave.
“The defendant committed the crime of defrauding a large sum from numerous victims, and given the methods and means employed, and the scale of the damage, the crime is extremely grave,” the court said. Jeong had also failed to obtain forgiveness from customers who suffered substantial losses, the court added.
Delio’s legal troubles followed the collapse of its crypto deposit and lending business. Founded in 2018, the company marketed yield-bearing products paying up to 10.7% APR on digital assets including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The platform suspended customer withdrawals in June 2023, initially citing market volatility.
Prosecutors argued Jeong had engaged in deceptive promotion and misconduct from August 2021 until the suspension. Delio was declared bankrupt in November 2024. Jeong was indicted in April 2025.
Delio’s problems emerged alongside similar issues at Haru Invest, another South Korean crypto yield platform that halted deposits and withdrawals in June 2023. Authorities investigated both businesses. Haru CEO Hugo Hyungsoo Lee was indicted on fraud charges over approximately 1.1 trillion won in customer assets. A victim attacked Lee in court in August 2024.
Prosecutors tied Delio’s withdrawal problems to disruption involving Haru and B&S Holdings. A person surnamed Bang, who held a majority stake in B&S Holdings, was identified as a key figure in the suspensions. Haru said it suffered losses of about 350 billion won ($236 million) from exposure to the FTX collapse.
Haru entered bankruptcy in November 2024 after investigations linked it to alleged investor losses of roughly 1.4 trillion won, about $1 billion. Haru opposed bankruptcy, arguing it would reduce its ability to recover assets tied to B&S Holdings and FTX.
Jeong was ordered detained after the 15-year sentence, with the court citing flight risk.
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