Former T-ARA member and actress Lee Ah-reum has been handed a suspended sentence in her first trial for charges of borrowing money from acquaintances and failing to repay it.
According to reports, the Suwon District Court Ansan Branch's 9th Criminal Division sentenced Lee Ah-reum to six months in prison, suspended for two years, on December 10th for fraud charges.
Previously, acquaintances of Lee Ah-reum claimed that she borrowed money under the pretense of needing funds for surgery and living expenses while living with her boyfriend, Mr. Seo. They alleged that she did not repay the money and, when confronted, posted accusatory messages about the victims on social media. These acquaintances filed a fraud complaint against her with the police between March and May of last year, with the alleged amount being approximately 38 million won.
At the time, Lee Ah-reum claimed she was a victim of hacking and that her boyfriend was responsible, but the police concluded that she acted alone.
Lee Ah-reum married an older businessman in 2019 and had two sons with him, but they divorced in 2023. She has since remarried her boyfriend, Mr. Seo, and reportedly gave birth to her third child in November of last year and is currently expecting her fourth.
Previously, Lee Ah-reum was also sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, for charges of child abuse and defamation. She was accused of emotionally abusing her children by verbally abusing her ex-husband in front of them and defaming an individual related to her ex-boyfriend by discussing court documents on an internet broadcast.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)