TOKYO (TR) – Prosecutors have announced the non-prosecution of an organized crime member who headed a fraud ring that targeted the elderly in swindling hundreds of persons out of 1.2 billion yen, reports Fuji News Network (June 12).
In October of 2015, a woman aged in her 80s and living in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, was told over the telephone by a person falsely claiming to be her son that he needed money to pay compensation to a co-worker over an unwanted pregnancy.
The ring, headed by Ryosuke Akita, a 31-year-old member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, then obtained 3 million yen in cash from the woman.
On Tuesday, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office announced the non-prosecution of Akita, who had been accused of fraud. No reason for the non-prosecution was given. However, persons with knowledge of the case believe it was due to lack of evidence.
According to police, the ring consists of at least 100 people. Over the past three years, the group has swindled about 200 persons, mostly elderly, across the nation out of more than 1.2 billion yen.
