TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested three persons over the fraudulent sale of an elderly woman’s property in Minato Ward without her knowledge, reports the Asahi Shimbun (June 7).
In February of 2014, Yasutoshi Kida, 59, allegedly requested that Misae Nakamura, 67, impersonate the woman, aged in her 70s, in the sale of her property and buildings, located in the Minami Azabu area, to a man in Kanagawa Prefecture for 240 million yen.
Both Kida, Nakamura and one other person face charges of fraud.
According to police, the purchaser proceeded with entering into a contract for the sale after the suspects presented him with a forged registration certificate for a stamp or seal for the woman.
The family of the woman, who has since died, was unaware that the property registration had been changed. “It was shocking since it seemed to be a very safe asset,” one of the family members is quoted.
Police believe that the suspects are members of a fraud ring that aims to swindle property owners in similar scams.
