Wealthy Golfers Targeted in $850K Rigged Casino Scheme
Posted on: August 10, 2025, 07:19h.
Last updated on: August 10, 2025, 07:19h.
- Criminal group used golf trips to lure wealthy victims.
- Rigged casinos and fake crimes enabled large-scale extortion.
- Authorities arrested 12; one suspect still at large.
South Korean authorities have arrested 12 members of a sophisticated criminal group that lured wealthy individuals on golf trips abroad and extorted them out of the equivalent of US$850K with rigged casino games and extortion plots.
Among those detained was the 60-year-old ringleader of the group, identified by the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency’s International Crime Investigation Unit only as “Mr. A.”
The scheme began in November 2022 when Mr. A befriended a successful businessman at a golf networking event, investigators said. Court documents reveal Mr. A. covertly installed a GPS tracker on the businessman’s car.
Mr. A. told the unsuspecting victim he had won an all-expenses-paid golfing trip to Thailand as part of a “hole-in-one celebration.”
Sextortion Plot
Once there, the group played golf while encouraging the victim to engage in acts with a sex worker. They later claimed that the sex worker was underage and demanded ₩240 million (US$172K) to make the problem go away, according to police.
Between mid-2023 and mid-2024, the group allegedly targeted at least five more affluent victims, all who were met at golf driving ranges.
Again, the victims were lured abroad with promises of exclusive golfing experiences, this time to Cambodia, where they were encouraged to play at casinos with rigged games. Syndicate members and corrupt casino staff ensured they lost big, according to police.
In one case, the gang staged a fake kidnapping, getting a victim to pay up by claiming his associate was being held against their will at the casino. The ruse extracted ₩680 million (US$490K) from the victim in a single transaction.
Across all the cases, the total extorted amount approached ₩1.19 billion, roughly US$850,000.
‘Setup Crimes’
During their investigation, law enforcement also uncovered ties to a casino insider who helped execute the deception, as well as the use of GPS surveillance to manipulate victims.
One of the suspects, a citizen of South Korea responsible for overseas coordination, remains at large. Authorities have invalidated his passport and requested an Interpol Red Notice to facilitate extradition to Korea.
We consider the crimes by Mr. A’s organization to be the classic form of a ‘setup crime,’ in which innocent people are made to appear as criminals in order to extort money,” Gyeonggi police said in a statement.
They warned that these types of crimes can be particularly effective because victims fear they will be prosecuted, discouraging them from seeking help.
“Demanding money by invoking the possibility of criminal prosecution is clearly extortion –do not comply and report it immediately,” they added.
Last Comment ( 1 )
Crafty devils