TOYAMA (TR) – A 58-year-old suspected fraudster experienced a swift and brutal reversal of fortune when he was assaulted and robbed of 2 million yen in cash mere moments after scamming an elderly woman, police have revealed, reports Nippon News Network (Aug. 18).
Koichi Murata was sent to prosecutors on suspicion of fraud after an incident in Toyama City on August 16. According to police, Murata posed as an employee of a precious metals trading company to swindle 2 million yen from a woman in her 70s.
Investigators believe Murata was operating as a ukeko (cash receiver) for a ring that carries out tokushu sagi (specialized fraud). In such a scam, a person poses on the telephone as a police officer or other person in authority to swindle a victim.
However, Murata’s score was remarkably short-lived.
While walking down a street in Toyama City shortly after securing the cash, Murata was cornered by three men. The group punched him in the face and snatched the stolen 2 million yen before fleeing.
“Three suspicious men”
A local resident who witnessed the street robbery intervened. “Three suspicious men were standing there. They surrounded the victim [Murata], dragged him to the side of the road, and started beating him,” the witness said. “I yelled, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ and rushed out.”
Later that same day, police tracked the assailants to Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, arresting three Chinese nationals — including 21-year-old Zhang Chunyu — on suspicion of robbery in the incident involving Murata.
Investigators believe the three foreign nationals are connected to tokuryu syndicate, whose members communicate anonymously via social media.
Police sources suggest there is a high probability that the Chinese gang was fully aware of the fraud ring’s plot in advance, lying in wait to ambush the ukeko and hijack the illicit cash. Investigations into the overlapping criminal groups are ongoing.
