CHIBA (TR) – Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested a 70-year-old man who posed as a much younger bachelor in the swindle of a woman he met online, reports Chiba Nippo (July 9).
On five occasions between January 18, 2016 and April 27, 2016, Shun Otsu, a resident of Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, fraudulently received 3.2 million yen in cash via bank transfer from the woman, a resident of Chiba Prefecture aged 37, after telling her on a konkatsu (marriage-seeking) site that he was a bachelor born in 1978 and working for a big-name automobile firm.
“Since I am intensely forgetful, I do not recall,” the suspect was quoted by the Gyotoku Police Station in denying the allegations. Police believe the suspect spent the money on entertainment and meals.
According to police, Otsu and the victim, who never met in person, communicated vial email. In explaining why he could not see her, the suspect said such things as “I have back pain” and “I am busy with work.”
At some point, the victim found that the suspect was abusing her credit card. When she inquired about it, he suggested that she pay for a detective to determine whether or not he was a criminal. It was for this reason that the payments were made via bank transfer, police said.
In March, police arrested Otsu on suspicion of assault in Nagasaki Prefecture. During the course of the investigation, he was found to be in possession of a credit card belonging to the woman.
