TOKYO (TR) – In a joint investigation, police forces in Tokyo and Fukuoka Prefecture have busted a fraud ring that ran a horse racing prognostication scam, reports TV Asahi (Feb. 19).
The ring is believed to have defrauded about 140 million yen from 35 persons by claiming to pick winning horses for upcoming races in exchange for payment, police said.
In January and earlier this month, Masashi Kanda, 34, and other suspects worked together to allegedly defraud a 61-year-old woman living in Tokyo’s Hachioji City out of 50,000 yen.
Since October, the ring repeatedly moved its base of operations to different locations in Hyogo, Hiroshima and Fukuoka prefectures to evade a bust by law enforcement, police said.
When questioned about the matter, Kanda said he would speak upon the arrival of a lawyer.
The matter emerged when the Hachioji woman failed to receive the picks from ring by the day of race and contacted police.
