“I thought I’d return to the pros” ... Former Samsung pitcher Ahn Ji-man sentenced to prison for fraud

[Financial News] Former Samsung Lions professional baseball pitcher Ahn Ji-man, 43, was sentenced to prison for borrowing money from acquaintances under pretexts including attorney fees and failing to repay it.
Yonhap News and other outlets reported on the 14th that Jeon Myeong-hwan, a judge in the 11th Criminal Division of the Daegu District Court, sentenced Ahn, who was indicted on fraud charges, to one year and eight months in prison.
Ahn was sent to trial on charges of borrowing about 300 million won from two acquaintances between December 2015 and October 2017 for purposes including construction costs and attorney fees, and failing to repay the money.
Ahn reportedly borrowed 94 million won from an acquaintance identified as B between December 2015 and October 2017, saying he needed money for attorney fees and other expenses. He also borrowed 228 million won from an acquaintance identified as C in two installments between April and June 2016, saying he needed money for construction costs. He did not repay either loan.
Investigators found that Ahn became embroiled in an overseas gambling scandal in October 2015 and was excluded from that year’s Korean Series roster, leaving him without a salary. They also found that he already owed financial institutions and others around 2 billion won. He reportedly planned to use the borrowed money to repay existing debts or loans.
During the trial, Ahn denied the fraud charges, arguing that he “had expected to return to professional baseball after the investigation and trial,” but the court rejected his argument.
The court ruled, “The defendant did not use the money borrowed from the victim for its intended purpose,” and added, “If the victim had known that the borrowed money would be used for another purpose, it appears the victim would not have lent money to the defendant.”
The court said it took into account that “the defendant repaid 25.9 million won to some of the victims and handed over his passenger car as repayment,” explaining its reasons for the sentence.
In April 2018, Ahn was sentenced by the Daegu District Court to six months in prison, suspended for two years, for violating the National Sports Promotion Act and other offenses. The sentence became final on the 28th of that month.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter