NAMES: Ae Ho Kwon and Yun Kyeong Sung Kwon

AGES: Ae Ho, 52; Yun Kyeong, 49

VICTIM: Rene Angelil, Celine Dion’s manager-husband

CRIMES: Ae Ho, a Presbyterian minister from Pasadena, Calif., was convicted in March of conspiracy, extortion and soliciting a bribe. He and his wife, Yun Kyeong, allegedly demanded $13.5 million from Angelil.

Yun Kyeong, an ordained minister of the Full Gospel World Church, was convicted in October of the same charges.

BACKGROUND: Yun Kyeong said Angelil fondled her at a Las Vegas resort on March 19, 2000. Dion’s husband paid her $2 million in a June settlement. He wanted to avoid court proceedings because he was battling cancer at the time and Dion was undergoing difficult fertility treatments, Angelil’s lawyer told reporters.
Two years later, the Kwons filed a civil lawsuit on March 15, 2002, alleging that Angelil had raped Yun Kyeong in 2000 and threatened to kill her “if my wife finds out about this.” They demanded more money from Angelil, and also sued the Imperial Palace Casino, where Yun Kyeong was allegedly raped.

Yun Kyeong said she was playing video poker at Caesars Palace when Angelil winked at her. He then approached her, with his bodyguard, and offered tickets to a concert. He then followed her across the street to her hotel, Imperial Palace, and into an elevator, where he fondled her, she said. She tried to escape to her room, but he forced his way in and then raped her, she said in the lawsuit. She called for help, but hotel security officers arrived after Angelil had left. She sued Imperial Palace for negligence.

Four days after filing the civil lawsuit, Yun Kyeong filed a report with the Las Vegas Police Department on March 19, claiming that Angelil had raped her two years ago. Police investigated, but closed the case when the Kwons refused to hand over a dress they said had Angelil’s semen. The next month, Yun Kyeong was arrested for allegedly failing to pay about $950,000 to Las Vegas casinos.

The prosecutor said the Kwons, facing nearly $1 million in gambling debts to Las Vegas casinos, hired new lawyers to bilk more money from Angelil.

During a 2003 meeting secretly recorded by police, the couple’s lawyers told Angelil’s lawyer that their clients would go public with the rape allegations if they weren’t paid $13.5 million. The Kwons were arrested as they walked out of the room.

The three-day October trial in which Yun Kyeong was found guilty of conspiracy to commit extortion and bribery did not explore the rape claim.

SENTENCES: A minimum of 28 months in prison, each. Ae Ho’s lawyer said she will appeal on several grounds, including the judge’s refusal to let her call Angelil as a witness to answer questions about the rape allegation.