Wedding Photographer Scams 170 Couples, Gets 18 Months in Jail

A wedding photographer in South Korea has been sentenced to one year and six months in jail for scamming over 160 couples, leaving them without both their money and their wedding photos.

The Crime

The man, identified only as Mr. A and reportedly in his twenties, was the one behind the wedding photography company. According to the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 11, Mr. A contacted brides and grooms through a service-matching app between July 2022 and January 2024. He promised couples that if they sent him a filming fee, he would shoot their wedding and deliver the original video or photo files. As you can probably imagine, the promise turned out to be false.

Instead, many of the newlyweds either never received any footage. Those who cancelled their contracts reportedly got no refund. In some cases, Mr. A didn’t even show up to the wedding. As The Chosun Daily writes, the photographer scammed approximately 170 prospective couples, and the total amount he took added up to about 88 million won, or around $61,000.

Investigators discovered that Mr. A was using a “rolling payment” method. He used funds from new clients to pay for filming and labor costs for previous jobs, or to cover personal living expenses.

[Related Reading: Wedding photographer left $4,600 in debt after “overpayment scam”]

The Punishment

The Daejeon District Court handed down the 18-month sentence for fraud. The court also ordered Mr. A to compensate eight victims, with amounts ranging from 332,000 won (about $230) to 760,000 won (about $526). However, the court said it would withhold detention to give Mr. A the chance to repay his victims.

“There are numerous victims and the damages are substantial,” said the presiding judge, Lee Jin-young, while delivering the sentence. The judge also noted Mr. A’s admission of guilt and his willingness to make amends.

Sadly, this isn’t the first wedding photography scam we’ve seen over the years. And in the age of AI, there are now even AI wedding photography portfolios (oh, the horror). All of these cases are an important reminder to be careful and choose your wedding photographer carefully, with patience, and well in advance of the big day.

[via PetaPixel]

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