South Florida

Internet Scam Lands South Florida Man's Father in South Korean Jail

A South Florida man's father is now imprisoned overseas after his family says he fell victim to an Internet scam, and now his son is telling his story in the hopes he'll be released in time for the holidays.

It's a twisted tale that began with a phone call to Kent Malinowski.

"My brother called me, said dad's been arrested, he's in South Korea in jail," Malinowski said.

At first, he thought it was a joke but this was no laughing matter. The U.S. embassy called to confirm his dad, 79-year-old Julius Malinowski, had been arrested on fraud charges and was awaiting trial in a South Korean prison.

"Never thought in a million years something like this would happen," Malinowski said.

Malinowski had no idea what his father was arrested for, nor could he communicate with him directly so he started his own investigation.

"We were able to create a timeline and track him through his credit card receipts," he said.

And what they found was shocking. His dad had exchanged several e-mails with BB&T Bank in North Carolina. Julius, a retired vice president for the Federal Reserve, was interested in part-time work again in the banking industry.

"He did a job interview, they came and met with him, played a round of golf with him," Malinowski said.

Shortly after, they sent business cards and an employment contract, but it was all fake. Then they sent him on an international assignment to Australia to deliver a contract. The trip was a success and his next assignment was South Korea.

According to a hand-written note from jail to his son, Julius followed his assignment to the "T" and on the last day meeting with a client, he was arrested.

"We think that they knew that about dad, they targeted him and they used that to their advantage to convince him that this was a legitimate deal," Malinowski said.

The timing could not have been worse. Only weeks before they were to celebrate the holiday, now they’re just hoping they see him again soon.

"Here's dad's place setting, we're gonna leave it empty until he comes home for Christmas," Malinowski said.

No trial date has been set. The family hopes to convince a judge in South Korea that their father was the victim of a scam.

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