"He Can Make Your Son a Pro Player"... Parents Duped by 'Fake Club Executive'

Defrauded 15 Million Won as an Arrangement Fee for Club Admission

A man who deceived parents hoping for their son's professional soccer debut by claiming he was an executive at a professional soccer club and defrauded them out of tens of millions of won has received a suspended prison sentence.

On the 25th, Judge Kwon So-young of the Seoul Northern District Court’s Criminal Division 5 announced that Mr. A (46), who was indicted on fraud charges, was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year suspension and ordered to complete 80 hours of community service.

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Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of impersonating a professional soccer club executive in August 2024 and defrauding the victim, Mr. B, of 15 million won as an arrangement fee, promising to have B’s son join the club.

Mr. A contacted Mr. B, whom he had met through a university soccer team coach, saying, "I am an executive at the club and can arrange for your son to play in the pro soccer league for the 2025 season." He further told Mr. B to "deposit 15 million won as the necessary arrangement fee for joining the club," and said that if the deal fell through, he would return the full amount.

Trusting Mr. A’s words, Mr. B transferred the 15 million won. However, investigations revealed that Mr. A was not an executive of the club at the time, did not possess a certified player agent license, and had neither the intention nor the means to arrange for B’s son to join a domestic professional soccer club. It was also determined that Mr. A planned to use the money received from Mr. B for personal living expenses and debt repayment, without any assets or plans to raise funds.

Judge Kwon stated, "Given the circumstances and nature of the crime, and the considerable amount of damage, the offense is serious," and added, "Although the defendant has previously been fined for similar crimes, he reoffended."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.