A South Korean man’s attempts to pose as a loan shark to extort $140,000 from his girlfriend’s family and save her from spiralling betting debts have backfired, landing him in jail.
The man, aged in his 20s and unnamed for legal reasons, conspired with his girlfriend, also unnamed, to threaten the latter’s parents. The duo tried to coerce the elderly couple into handing over more than 201 million won in cash.
A district court in the South Korean city of Busan handed the man a six-year jail sentence, the South Korean newspaper Segye Ilbo reported.
The same court also handed the man’s lover, also aged in her 20s, an 18-month prison term, but suspended the sentence for three years.
South Korean Man: Gambling Debts Drove Blackmail Bid
The man telephoned his lover’s parents on multiple occasions, claiming to work for a loan agency.
He told the woman’s parents he had lent her money and threatened legal action if they did not pay off her debts.
“If you don’t pay back the money, I will have you investigated by the police,” the man told the woman’s parents.
Prosecutors showed the court evidence that the man had made 39 threatening calls of this nature last year, between April 26 and June 6.
When the woman’s parents filed a complaint with the police, the man and his girlfriend conspired to make further and more aggressive threats.
Prosecutors told the court the man committed the crime because his lover had accrued massive debts through gambling and drinking.
The man also tried to extort money from his lover’s friends. He tried to coerce them into “paying off the debt on her behalf.” This attempt failed, with none of the friends responding to his pleas.
Instead, they threatened to report him to the police. He responded by threatening them with physical violence.
‘Violent and Abusive’
Police told the court the man was also violent and abusive during questioning. Officers testified that he swore at a public attorney and broke a glass window in the bathroom area of a suspect’s waiting room.
The presiding judge justified the court’s decision to suspend the woman’s sentence. The judge stated that the court “took into consideration the fact that the victims, namely her parents, do not want her to be punished.”
Most forms of gambling are illegal in South Korea, but the underground betting scene continues to thrive.
Earlier this month, the Busan-based pro baseball team Lotte Giants sent four players back to South Korea from a Taiwanese training camp.
A scandal erupted in sporting communities after CCTV footage circulated online, apparently showing the four men betting in an illegal Taiwanese gambling den.
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A South Korean man’s attempts to pose as a loan shark to extort $140,000 from his girlfriend’s family and save her from spiralling betting debts have backfired, landing him in jail. The man, aged in his 20s and unnamed for legal reasons, conspired with his girlfriend, also unnamed, to threaten the latter’s parents. The duo
The post South Korean Man Posed as Loan Shark to Blackmail Gambling-Addicted Lover’s Family appeared first on CasinoBeats.