Mastermind of 6.6 Billion Won 'Lotto Prediction' Scam Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison

The mastermind behind a scam that swindled approximately 6.6 billion won from members under the guise of predicting winning Lotto numbers has been sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Judge Kim Ji-hoo of Criminal Division 2 at the Incheon District Court sentenced the 33-year-old ringleader, identified as Defendant, to 7 years in prison on charges of fraud and forming a criminal organization.

Defendant was put on trial for setting up an office in Incheon and systematically swindling 6.624 billion won across approximately 14,000 transactions from members recruited through an organized scheme between April 2021 and August 2023.

Investigations revealed that Defendant took over two Lotto number prediction websites and systematically recruited members by dividing roles among representatives, office managers, and tier-1 and tier-2 telemarketers.

The operation expanded its targets by acquiring not only existing registered members but also member lists purchased through illegal agencies.

Defendant instructed telemarketing employees to deceive victims every Saturday after the drawing results were announced by falsely claiming that they had correctly predicted 2nd or 3rd place Lotto numbers even when no actual wins occurred.

They also induced victims to sign up for upper-tier memberships requiring high-cost payments of 1.1 million won or 2.2 million won or more, promising to extend their subscription periods in case of non-winning.

It was revealed that the numbers Defendant provided to the victims every week were actually randomly generated.

The court stated, "The nature of the defendant's crime is very poor, and given that the fraud was committed in an organized manner with a large scale of damage, the legal responsibility is heavy."

However, the court explained the sentencing reasons by considering that "the defendant is showing remorse and that some victims who recovered their damages do not wish for punishment."

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.