Artnouveau Monde executives arrested on charges of fraud, embezzlement

Executives of Artnouveau Monde, a real estate service accused of stealing investment funds from about 100 Koreans in the U.S. looking to buy lots of the Artnouveau City building in Gangnam, were arrested.

According to the Seoul Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday, Artnouveau Monde CEO Lee Jae-sung and Executive Director Kim Woo-young have been arrested on charges of fraud and embezzlement.

Lee and Kim allegedly sold lots of the Artnouveau building to Koreans in Los Angeles and New York starting in 2005. The prosecutor’s office said Lee embezzled about $42 million from about 100 people.

It appears as though Lee and Kim used most of the money instead of putting it into an account, said Kwon Soon-jung, a prosecutor at the office.

Dozens have launched civil suits against Lee and Kim in Korean courts, and 14 have reported them to the prosecutor’s office for fraud and embezzlement.

Choi Du-young, owner of Artnouveau Monde, has been undergoing investigation by the office after being arrested at immigration services in 2012 and repatriated to Korea.

“Choi has been summoned to the prosecutor’s office many times and will go through the judicial process soon,” Kwon said.