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Pair handed prison sentence for 700 million won lottery scam

Published: 23 Feb. 2026, 17:22

Lottery balls spin during a Lotto drawing in this file photo. [NEWS1]

Two people were sentenced to prison for swindling more than 700 million won ($485,000) from victims by claiming they could obtain winning lottery numbers through an inside contact at the lottery operator.

The Busan District Court sentenced the first suspect to four years and six months in prison and another suspect to two years and six months for fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, the court said on Sunday.

The two are accused of defrauding three victims of about 776 million won ($537,000) from November 2023 to July last year by promising to give them the winning numbers.

The suspects operated an online website and told paid members that they had a source at the lottery operator and could pass along winning numbers in exchange for a fee.

They also claimed that they could manipulate the drawing. "I can make the balls lighter so that the desired numbers will win," the suspects told the victims.

They argued that their actions did not constitute fraud because they "received the money in exchange for providing services."

The court shot the arguments down.

"We considered that most of the damages have not been recovered and that the defendants attempted to conceal evidence during the investigation," said the court.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EU-BIN [[email protected]]