[Exclusive] Former Professional Baseball Player Guilty in First Trial for 'Fraud Scheme' Against Girlfriend and Fans

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] A former famous professional baseball player was sentenced guilty in court for defrauding his girlfriend and a fan of about 23 million won.

According to the legal community on the 30th, the Cheonan Branch of Daejeon District Court, Criminal Division 9 (Presiding Judge Kwon Soon-nam) sentenced A (41), who was tried on fraud charges, to 6 months in prison with a 1-year probation on the 15th. Around June 2011, just before being released from a professional baseball team, A borrowed 4.3 million won from his girlfriend B, claiming "I lost my car keys and urgently need repair costs," but did not repay it. It was investigated that A had no intention or ability to repay the money from the beginning. At the time of borrowing money from B, 3.6 million won was his entire monthly income, and the borrowed money was intended for purposes other than car repair. Including this amount, A received a total of 18.6 million won from B over five occasions.

In October of the same year, A also extorted 1 million won from C, who he knew as a fan, by saying "I got into a drunk driving traffic accident and urgently need money." Afterwards, A continued his fraudulent acts against C, defrauding a total of 4 million won over three occasions. A was investigated by the police following a complaint from victim C, transferred to the prosecution, and brought to trial.

Judge Kwon stated, "The crime was committed by betraying the trust of the victims, so the nature of the crime is bad." However, considering "the partial repayment of the amount, the settlement with the victims, and the absence of prior criminal records," the sentence was set as a suspended prison term.

A was active as a professional baseball player from 2002 to 2011 and worked as a freelance coach after being released from the team.