TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested the leader of a fraud ring that swindled hundreds of elderly persons nationwide out of nearly 700 million yen, reports TV Asahi (Feb. 28).
According to police, Masaki Ogiwara, a 33-year-old resident of Isesaki City, Gunma Prefecture, employed about 30 accomplices to telephone victims and pose as relatives in need of money.
In September, the group swindled an elderly woman out of one million yen by having a member impersonate her grandson. “I embezzled money from my school,” the person told her.
Between July and October, the group is believed to have used similar tactics to swindle about 180 persons out of 670 million yen, according to the Jomo Shimbun (Feb. 28).
Based on items seized from the operation, police will investigate whether the group was involved in other crimes.
