TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 32-year-old woman living in Kanagawa Prefecture for falsely claiming to have been infected with COVID-19 and defrauding hospitalization benefits, reports NHK (Nov. 27).
According to police, Chiaki Araki is suspected of forging a COVID-19 home treatment certificate issued by Yokohama City in 2022, submitting it to a life insurance company and defrauding approximately 320,000 yen in hospitalization benefits.
Upon her arrest on suspicion of fraud and other crimes, Araki, a resident of Sagamihara City, admitted to the allegations. “I used the money for living expenses and to repay debts from consumer finance companies,” she said.
At the time, Araki was working at another life insurance company, where she had the opportunity to see certificates submitted by customers. Police believe that she misused that knowledge to commit the crime.
Police are investigating whether she used the same method to defraud a total of approximately 1.2 million yen.
