OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court on Thursday sentenced former fugitive real estate executive Heo Young Joong to 71/2 years in prison and fined him 500 million yen for aggravated breach of trust and tax evasion.
Heo, a South Korean national known for his ties with the underworld and influential politicians, was sentenced in connection with the multibillion-yen scandal that helped bring down Osaka trading house Itoman Corp -- one of the nation's largest postwar business fraud cases.
Lawyers representing Heo said they will consider appealing.