Shaman scams victim to pay for 'Lotto numbers from beyond'

(Herald DB)

South Korean court recently handed down a four-year jail term to a shaman who had swindled money from someone by pretending to speak to the victim's deceased mother.

The 66-year-old defendant surnamed Jang claimed to the victim in April 2019 to have heard from the victim's late mother, who supposedly revealed the five winning numbers of the weekly South Korean Lotto. Jang said to the victim that an offering would be necessary to know the last number, and received 276 million won ($206,600) in cash.

The shaman also used the victim's credit card for a 50 million won payment, not paying back the victim.

While Jang claimed that the payment had been to pray for the health and well-being of the victim and not to know the winning numbers, the court said that Jang deliberately tricked the victim by mentioning their deceased mother.

The shaman was also accused of a separate scam in 2021 swindling another victim out of 319 million won, by promising to pay back the victim's investment with interest.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)