You're gonna make the congregation a multi-level salesman...a pseudo-religious trial

The religious group leader and his aides have been put on trial on charges of attracting believers to illegal multi-level sales and ripping away billions of won, saying they promise to live forever.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office said it has arrested and indicted five key officials, including a man in his 60s, a cult leader suspected of violating fraud and door-to-door sales laws.

Mr. A and others are accused of signing up believers as salespeople of unregistered multi-level sales companies from 2016 to March this year and stealing about 3.1 billion won from 500 people in the name of agency membership fees.

According to the prosecution's investigation, since 2013, they have recruited more than 1,800 believers, mainly targeting the elderly and the poor, claiming that they volunteered to be God-like and promised eternal life, revival, and wealth.

In addition, A has been sentenced to prison for illegal multi-level sales before, and it was investigated that he tried to increase the scale of the crime through religious groups.

Prosecutors say they have confiscated and preserved the site of religious organizations that were bought with proceeds from the crime.