Two people were convicted of attempting to extort money from football star Son Heung-min and sentenced to prison on Monday.

The Seoul Central District Court found a woman in her 20s surnamed Yang, who falsely claimed to be pregnant with Son's child, guilty of extortion and attempted extortion and sentenced her to four years in prison. A man in his 40s, surnamed Yong, was sentenced to two years for acting as her accomplice.

The court said Yang had never confirmed whose child she was carrying and that her assertions that the fetus belonged to Son were inconsistent and therefore not credible, adding that she'd made definitive false statements and attempted to pressure him by threatening to publicize the alleged pregnancy.

The judge said Yong had escalated beyond simple threats by attempting to inform media outlets and advertisers of the supposed pregnancy and abortion, exploiting Son’s public status in a way that likely inflicted significant emotional harm.

The court emphasized that the defendants had targeted a high-profile victim in an effort to extract large sums of money and continued to demand more even after receiving 300 million won, or around 200 thousand U.S. dollars, causing further psychological distress.

Yang initially threatened to reveal the alleged pregnancy in June of last year, and both defendants later attempted—but failed—to obtain an additional 70 million won through further threats between March and May of this year.