Virginia Man Convicted in $2.5 Million Investment Fraud

State of VA - A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, convicted a Chantilly man today for running a fraud scheme that hurt families in his community and defrauded a U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Jihoon Park, 52, was found guilty on three counts of wire fraud and two counts of bankruptcy fraud.

Court documents and evidence from the trial show Park convinced people in his community to let him invest their money. He used his personal relationships and his past job at a large national financial institution to earn their trust.

Park promised safe investments with high returns. Instead, he took more than $2.5 million from multiple victims and used it to enrich himself, including buying a house and cryptocurrency.

When one victim sued him, Park moved assets into his wife's name. He hid millions of dollars in cryptocurrency before filing for bankruptcy, then falsely claimed he had only 34 cents in financial assets and no cryptocurrency at all. Prosecutors say this was an attempt to avoid paying his victims back.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division spoke about the case. "Jihoon Park claimed he would invest his community members' life savings, retirement, and money and promised a high-yield return. Instead, he stole the millions of dollars entrusted to him to enrich himself," Duva said. "Unsuspecting families and individuals suffered devastating financial crises because of Park's crimes. The Criminal Division's White Collar Section is using every available resource to stop criminals from destroying people's livelihoods and retirements."

Park is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 10, 2026. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud counts and a maximum of five years on the bankruptcy fraud counts.

A federal district court judge will decide the final sentence after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case. Trial Attorney Timothy J. Coley of the Criminal Division's White Collar and Corporate Enforcement Section and Trial Attorney Zachary H. Ray of the National Fraud Enforcement Division's Health Care Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

They received substantial help from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Russell L. Carlberg and Jack Morgan of the Eastern District of Virginia.