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KFC manager turns to fraud after coronavirus ’caused income to drop sharply’

TOKYO (TR) – Last week, the Asahi Shimbun ran an article about how fried chicken eateries have thrived during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

According to the paper, more households with double incomes are prefering to order take-out fried chicken dishes in lieu of cooking at home.

That may not be the case for Okinawa Prefecture, at least if the former manager of one outlet of chain KFC is to be believed.

On October 6, Shohei Iha, 29, allegedly defrauded a woman in her 80s living in Ota Ward out of six of her bank cards. The cards were then used to withdraw 2.2 million yen in cash.

In carrying out the ruse, an accomplice of Iha falsely told the woman that her cards were being abused by a third party. Iha then posed as a member of the Japan Banker’s Association while collecting the cards.

Shohei Iha (Twitter)

Until coming to Tokyo in September, he was managing the KFC outlet. Upon his arrest, Iha admitted to the allegations.

“Starting in March, the number of days I was forced to close increased due to the coronavirus,” the suspect said. “This caused my income to drop sharply and I was having trouble making a living.”

Iha also told police that he quit his job and moved from Okinawa to Tokyo after seeing an offer on Twitter for “underground part-time work.”