TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 52-year-old member of a fraud ring in connection with the swindle of 100 million yen from a woman in Yamagata Prefecture last year, reports TBS News (Jan. 29).
In November, the woman received a postcard that falsely claimed that she had “unpaid fees.” When she contacted the sender, a person posing as a lawyer on the telephone told her that she “needed to make payments to avoid seizure [of assets].
On six occasions, the woman sent a total of 45 million yen to addresses in Saitama and Ibaraki prefectures through takkyubin services. Masahiro Nakamura, of no known occupation, later received the money, according to the Seiyo Police Station.
Nakamura, who has been accused of fraud, admits to the allegations. “Since the residences were vacant, I didn’t think it was illegal to receive packages,” the suspect was quoted by police.
After each collection, Nakamura deposited the funds in coin-operated lockers. He later received commissions of more than 20,000 yen for each job, police said.
Police believe the ring used similar means to swindle the woman out of an additional 55 million yen.
