GUNMA (TR) – Gunma Prefectural Police have arrested a 56-year-old male playwright over the sale of clothing items with allegedly forged signatures of popular actresses, including Tao Tsuchiya, reports Fuji News Network (July 8).
On April, Yasushi Asai, who writes for films and dramas under the name Kensho Murota, allegedly sold four clothing items, including a dress and bag, with fake autographs of actresses Tsuchiya, Haruka Ayase and others to a second-hand goods store in Yokohama City for 40,000 yen.
“I received it from her agency after she signed it,” Asai falsely said of one of the items. “She wore it in a commercial.”
Asai, who has been accused of fraud, denies the allegations. “I do not recall [the matter],” the suspect was quoted by police.
Between September, 2017 and April, the suspect collected a total of around 15 million yen in the sale of 984 such items to the store, police said.
