TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a suspected recruiter for a fraud ring that swindled an elderly woman in Kumamoto Prefecture earlier this year, reports (Aug. 28).
In February, the woman, 85, was told on the telephone by a person falsely claiming to be from the Financial Services Agency that money was being unjustly withdrawn from her bank account by a third party.
A member of the ring subsequently visited the residence of the woman and collected two bank cards and a bank book. The member, who has since been arrested, was recruited to join the ring by Yuki Iwanaga, according to police.
In soliciting the member, Iwanaga offered him the chance to earn 100,000 yen per month by working as “a courier,” police said.
Following his arrest, Iwanaga denied the allegations. “I have absolutely no connection [to the crime],” the suspect was quoted by the Marunouchi Police Station.
