Former girl group T-ara member Ahreum (Lee Ah-reum) was sentenced to a suspended prison term for borrowing tens of millions of won from fans and acquaintances and failing to repay them in the appeal trial.
The Suwon District Court's Criminal Appeal Division 5 (Director General Kim Haeng-soon, Lee Jong-rok, Park Shin-young) changed part of the original ruling on the appeals of Lee and her boyfriend A and sentenced Lee to four months in prison with a one-year suspension and A to one year and four months in prison on the 13th. The first trial had previously sentenced them to six months in prison with a two-year suspension and one year and six months in prison, respectively.
The court noted, "Lee Ah-reum conspired with A knowing that he was committing fraud against her fans and others, and she repeatedly committed crimes against the victims, which is not trivial." However, it also stated that "considering her remorse and her reaching an agreement with some victims, the original sentence is somewhat harsh and unreasonable."
Regarding A, it stated, "The burden of guilt is heavy due to repeated fraud and the significant amount of damage, but he has reached an agreement with some victims and is acknowledging all of his crimes," explaining the reasons for the sentencing.
According to the prosecution, the two were indicted for failing to repay about 37 million won borrowed from three fans and acquaintances. The victims submitted complaints last year between March and May, stating that "Lee borrowed money for personal reasons with her boyfriend and has not repaid it to this day."
Meanwhile, Ahreum joined girl group T-ara in 2012 but withdrew in July the following year. In 2019, she married a businessman two years older and had two sons, but revealed in December 2023 that she was in the middle of a divorce lawsuit.
Later, announcing her remarriage and pregnancy with boyfriend A, she exposed that her ex-husband abused the children and accused him of child abuse, but her ex-husband was cleared of charges due to insufficient evidence.
[Photo] SNS
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