American Man Steals $5.5 Million Dollars From Korean School

A Korean school has lost millions after being scammed by a man in New York, emptying out the schools entire savings account.

Taejon Christian International School was cheated out of $5.5 million USD when a former teacher wired the funds to an American on false promises. William Cosme had promised the teacher, Kirk Hawkins, that he would invest the funds and loan the school $55 million dollars to pay for a new location.

In the end, William Cosme was given the $5.5 million USD and spent it on trips to Las Vegas and expensive cars. He spent $50,000 in three days on gas, parking and restaurant meals. He ended up spending another $82,000 in hotels and gambling while on an 110-day vacation in Las Vegas.

In total, he bought four cars, a $47,299.38 Cadillac, a $314.915.57 Lamborghini,  a $286,500 Ferrari, and finally a $27,000 Nissan. He ended up spending about $2 million of the $5.5 million that the school gave to him.

In 2012, he was arrested in his home in Jericho, Long Island, where police then found $634,894 in his car. William Cosme now risks 20 years in jail for his fraudulent crimes. To keep up with his massive web of lies, he would boast about high-profile clients and produced false annual reports.

When the school asked for a progress report to see how the investment was doing, Cosme sent them a fake image saying that he had already generated $12.5 million USD.

Five years after the entire incident, William Cosme was found guilty for his crimes and sentenced to jailtime.

Source: Newsweek