Tranlate this title Blow to the golf black market, tee time cartel in spanish

As in so many other criminal cases, greed proved to be their undoing. It was the undeclared increases in their checking account balances that put two California residents—Se Youn “Steve” Kim and Hee Young “Ted” Kim—in the authorities’ crosshairs; they were ultimately charged with orchestrating a scheme to resell tee times (the right to play a golf course at a specific time, purchased in advance) for a commission.

The scheme operated in a very straightforward manner. Steve and Ted Kim would book tee times under their own names at courses in Orange and Los Angeles counties—home to some of the world’s best—and then resell them to other individuals at a markup, pocketing the extra cash. In a move that was anything but brilliant, the profits were deposited directly into their personal checking accounts. They now face criminal charges for failing to account for the legal origin of more than $1.3 million (approx. €1.14 million) in assets—charges to which they have already pleaded guilty. Some of the money that evaded IRS scrutiny originated from their primary jobs; both men work as diagnostic radiology technicians.

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In the case of one of them, Steve, he failed to report $27,150 of the $810,919 in income he declared for 2021—earnings derived from the tee-time business. «Neither ever reported the income from that business, and both have admitted to using some of those funds for personal expenses and cash withdrawals,» states a prosecution memo. This occurred even after they had formed a company together to serve as an umbrella entity.

Although the trial is set for next January, the case has a long history. The IRS has been investigating the Kims for years, while the brothers have defended their actions in the media. In 2024, Ted told the *Los Angeles Times* that they were doing «nothing illegal.» «It’s not like we’re profiting from technology. I make the reservations in my own name,» he reasoned, claiming to earn a couple of thousand dollars a month from the scheme. However, the reality is that their business creates an inflationary bubble paid for by other users—to the point where Dave Fink, a professional golfer, launched a grassroots movement to oppose them under the slogan #FreeTheTee.

The issue has reached California lawmakers, who have passed legislation to protect players from such practices. «Law 1954″—officially the PAR Act (Protecting Access to Reservations)—was championed by the California Alliance for Golf and signed into law this week by Governor Gavin Newsom. The legislation expressly prohibits «third parties from advertising, selling, or transferring tee time reservations at public courses without written consent from course management.» As State Assembly member Chris Ward pointed out, «public golf belongs to the public.»