TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two suspected members of a fraud ring for allegedly swindling a man in Chiba Prefecture out of more than 8 million yen last year, reports NHK (Feb. 22).
In July, the victim, 28, was falsely told in an email sent by a member of the ring that he was liable for “unpaid fees due to use of a pay-to-view adult site.”
On about 20 occasions over a two-month period thereafter, Tsubasa Hosoya, a 34-year-old member of the Sumiyoshi-kai criminal syndicate, and two others are alleged to have fraudulently obtained a total of 8.4 million yen in cash from the victim.
According to police, the three suspects, deny the allegations, with each telling police that he “does not recall [the matter].”
Police suspect that Hosoya is the leader of the ring, which includes more than 10 members. It believe the operation utilized similar means to swindle persons nationwide out of about 130 million yen in 150 cases that have taken place since April of last year.
