TOKYO (TR) – Three men were arrested on suspicion of using a matchmaking site to meet and con women with high salaries into buying an apartment, police said.
On Wednesday, police arrested Eishu Iwatani, 31, and his accomplices on suspicion of violating the Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business Act for repeatedly going on dates with women to get them to invest in apartments without a real estate license, Fuji News Network reports (May 18).
According to police, the suspects checked if the victims were able to take out loans by asking to see their income tax withholding slips during dates. They targeted office workers and teachers with annual incomes of around 10 million yen.
One of the other two suspects, 45, is suspected of locating women. One of the victims said she never showed anyone her income withholding slip before, but “this is marriage we’re talking about, so I figured he would bring up substantial topics like our incomes.”
An organization representing the victims said groups like the three-man team had conned 60 women for a total of over 1.5 billion yen.
