A former footballer who scammed his lover and fans out of 500 million won ($500,000) and spent most of it on sports gambling has been sentenced to prison. According to legal sources on Friday, Kim Jong-gwang, a deputy chief judge at the Seoul Northern District Court’s Criminal Division 4, sentenced Kim Mo, 38, to three years in prison for fraud. Kim cheated seven people out of more than 570 million won between November 2019 and July last year. The victims included lovers and former fans.

Kim borrowed money from his victims, claiming that he had connections to professional basketball players and esports athletes and could help them make a return on their investment through match-fixing .Kim, who works as a day laborer after retiring, lied about working as a scout for professional football clubs, owning expensive apartments in Seoul and Ilsan, and running a large football school.

Most of the borrowed money was spent on gambling, including sports betting .”The amount of damage exceeds 500 million won, while the amount of repayment is only about 90 million won,” the court said, explaining that Kim used some of the money to pay for the treatment of his terminally ill child as a favourable mitigating circumstance. Kim, who joined the Pohang Steelers in 2004, also played for the Busan Transport Corporation football team. He was sentenced to three months in 토토사이트 prison for fraud in June last year.