The two men, 43 and 36, were sentenced Thursday to 10 days in prison each for cheating at a fishing tournament in September. They must also be fined the equivalent of SEK 26,000 per man. The boat they used during the competition on Lake Eriesjön was also confiscated by the authorities – with a value of more than SEK 1.3 million.
The winner of the tournament was determined according to the weight of the catch. When the two condemned men turned in their fish to be weighed, the competition manager became suspicious, as the catch was not as heavy as shown on the scales.
Upon closer examination, ten lead weights were found inside the fish. The men were washed and an immediate investigation was launched.
Professional hunting contests are popular in the United States and the prize money is often in the tens of thousands of dollars. Those who caught the heaviest prey in the Eriesjön tournament collected just over 300,000 crowns.
“I have no doubt that these two fraudsters cheated in multiple tournaments over the past several years. They should be banned from all fishing tournaments for life,” Attorney General Michael O’Malley said in a statement.
Lake Erie is one of the five large freshwater lakes in the Great Lakes system in eastern North America.
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