AICHI (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday raided an office of a gang affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi in Nagoya over as a part of an investigation into fraud, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 26).
Officers entered the headquarters of the Kodo-kai, located in Nakamura Ward, in search of evidence over the alleged swindle of 3 million yen in cash from an 87-year-old woman in Kanagawa Prefecture in 2017.
On Monday, police arrested Mitsuharu Sano, a 43-year-old executive in the Kodo-kai, and fellow member Yuya Watanabe, 42, and three other suspects on suspicion of fraud.
According to police, the victim was falsely told over the telephone by a caller impersonating her grandson that he needed money “for a work-related [matter].”
According to police, Sano is believed to have ordered a person in the ring to arrive at the residence of the woman, located in Kanagawa Prefecture, and collect 3 million yen in cash from her.
Police have also accused Watanabe in the swindle of 2.4 million yen from an 81-year-old woman in Kanagawa Prefecture in April of last year.
Members of the ring target elderly persons by posing as their relatives and requesting money over the telephone, a scam known as ore ore sagi, or “it’s me” fraud, police said.
