A person in their 40s who promised instant wealth to clients visiting their fortune-telling house and extorted hundreds of millions of won in return has been sentenced to prison.
Judge Ji Yoon-seob of Criminal Division 3 at the Cheongju District Court sentenced the individual in their 40s, referred to as A, to two years and six months in prison on charges of fraud.
A operated a fortune-telling house in Cheongju from 2018 to 2020, targeting three victims who came to have their fortunes told.
Investigations revealed that A deceived the victims by frightening them with statements such as "Your family members will suffer serious harm if you do not hold a ritual," and by making promises like "I will make you win the lottery," pocketing money in return.
The total damage amounted to approximately 530 million won, and A was found to have swindled money from them across 169 occasions.
All the money extorted in this manner was used to pay off personal debts.
Additionally, A faces charges of swindling about 60 million won from an acquaintance across 16 occasions under the pretext of hospital bills last year.
The court stated, "The crimes were committed during a repeat offense period despite having been punished for fraud multiple times, and the damages suffered by the victims have not been recovered." However, it added, "The sentence was determined by comprehensively considering factors such as the acknowledgment of the charges and the attitude of remorse."
(Reported by Son Hyeong-an | Video by Lee Da-in | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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