TOKYO (TR) – A group of investors has filed a criminal complaint against the executives of a data management company, accusing them of operating a massive “phantom server” investment scam that may have defrauded 5,000 victims out of a staggering 25 billion yen, reports Nippon News Network (July 8).
On Wednesday, a legal team representing the victims held a press conference to announce that a criminal complaint for suspected fraud had been filed with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. The initial complaint was filed by six victims seeking to recover approximately 230 million yen.
“The damage has spread to 5,000 people and 25 billion yen,” a lawyer for the victims’ defense team stated. “There is a very high possibility that this will develop into a large-scale criminal case.”
According to the complaint, the company, Clear Sky, lured investors by pitching a lucrative server co-purchasing scheme. Customers were told their funds would be used to buy computer servers, which would then be rented out to third parties. The company promised that the rental income would allow them to return the initial investment plus a 10 percent profit in just three months.
However, it is now believed that the servers never actually existed.
“At the seminars, we were repeatedly told, ‘We actually went to see them,’ and ‘They really do exist,'” one male victim said. “I was absolutely stunned to find out that not a single one was real.”
Celebrities, lawmakers and a former professional baseball player
To build a veneer of legitimacy and attract deep-pocketed targets, Clear Sky held investment seminars nationwide. Executives routinely took to social media to flaunt their connections, posting photos of themselves alongside celebrities, lawmakers, and a former professional baseball player who attended their events.
In one particularly brazen move to manufacture credibility, Clear Sky was even listed under “Cooperation” on an advertisement for a cybersecurity seminar that featured the Hyogo Prefectural Police as a speaker.
Authorities are expected to launch a full-scale investigation into the company’s operations.
