Appeals Court Overturns Acquittal, Convicts Man Who Received W100 Million Extra Due to Casino Staff Mistake

The lower and appellate courts delivered conflicting rulings on a man in his 30s who received and spent 100 million won in cash again due to a staff mistake, even though he had already exchanged the 100 million won he deposited at a casino for game chips.

The Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1-1 (Presiding Judge Lee Geun-young) announced on the 24th that it overturned the lower court's ruling, which had acquitted a 38-year-old defendant, identified as A, on charges of embezzlement, and instead sentenced him to one year in prison suspended for two years.

The court also ordered 80 hours of community service.

Defendant A was put on trial on charges of failing to return 100 million won in cash given to him due to a staff error at a casino in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, in April 2024 and using it for personal purposes such as debt repayment.

Previously, Defendant A had deposited 100 million won at the casino and already exchanged the cash custody certificate issued to him for game chips.

Settlement for this money had already been completed, but the incident began when a staff member, unaware of this fact, found the company's retained cash custody certificate and mistakenly disbursed 100 million won to Defendant A again.

The Yeongwol Branch of the Chuncheon District Court, which handled the first trial, judged that considering Defendant A had deposited 368 million won at the casino and received cash custody certificates on multiple occasions to exchange them for chips, it was difficult to conclude that he recognized the 100 million won received additionally was already settled money.

It acquitted him, citing circumstances such as the casino failing to send verification materials when it belatedly realized the mistake, making it difficult to view that Defendant A had the intent to embezzle when he spent the money.

The appellate court, re-examining the arguments of the prosecutors who appealed the verdict, focused on the transaction details showing that every time Defendant A was issued a cash custody certificate, he immediately exchanged the full amount for chips.

Considering that the problematic 100 million won cash custody certificate was also exchanged for chips in its entirety just three minutes after issuance, the court determined that he could not have been unaware that he had already converted the 100 million won into chips.

Defendant A claimed that he was mentally groggy at the time because he played games without sleeping for three days and two nights at the casino, but the court found this claim difficult to readily accept, citing factors such as the VIP lounge closing every day at 6 a.m.

In addition, the fact that Defendant A himself said, "This doesn't seem to be mine," before receiving the money from the staff member also served as a basis for the guilty verdict.

The appellate court pointed out, "The unfavorable factors include the large amount embezzled, the fact that he consumed all of it not long after receiving it, the severe hardship apparently suffered by the victimized company's employee in charge due to the embezzlement, and the failure to reach a settlement with the victimized company."

It further stated, "The sentence was determined by taking into account favorable factors, such as the defendant repaying approximately 77 million won on multiple occasions between September of last year and August of this year, and having no prior record of punishment for property crimes."

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※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.