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Tokyo cops: Fraud ring netted ¥60 million

Mari Sakuraba (left) and Takashi Domeki
Mari Sakuraba (left) and Takashi Domeki

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have busted a fraud ring that made false claims to victims on the telephone to gain access to their bank accounts, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 21).

On Wednesday, police raided the headquarters of the ring, located in Kita Ward, and arrested Mari Sakuraba, Takashi Domeki, 40, and two other persons.

In one case, the suspects are alleged to have told a 72-year-old woman from Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture that she was eligible for a “rebate” and withdrew 500,000 yen from her bank account after gaining access to an ATM card.

Police suspect that the ring has defrauded victims out of approximately 60 million yen in about 50 similar cases.

According to TBS News (Oct. 20), one of the unnamed suspects, a 31-year-old male was arrested by mistake. The person was released about one and a half hours after his apprehension.