TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 22-year-old woman for allegedly recruiting a boy to work for a fraud ring that swindled an elderly woman last year, reports TV Asahi (Feb. 19).
According to the Fussa Police Station, Haruka Shota, an employee in the construction industry, allegedly instructed the boy, then 16, to pose as a relative of the woman, 89, living in Kamakura City, in defrauding her out of 1 million yen in cash in October.
In carrying out the crime, a member of the ring posed as the relative on the telephone, telling the woman that he needed money to cover a work-related problem. Shota then told the boy to wear a suit and darken his hair before arriving at the woman’s residence to pick up the money.
Shota received 100,000 yen as a commission. Of that amount, she gave 40,000 yen to the boy, police said.
“He came to me asking for money, and I wanted money as well,” Shota was quoted by police in admitting to the allegations.
