CHIBA (TR) – Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested a former real estate employee for allegedly conning a man with dementia into purchasing an apartment at approximately eight times the market price, reports Nippon News Network (Feb. 5).
In 2023, Kenji Tomizuka, 39, and his associates sold a share of a unit in an apartment building in Saitama Prefecture to the 84-year-old man living in Chiba for nearly 24 million yen, or around eight times the market price.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of quasi-fraud, Tomizuka declined to comment.
At the time, the suspect was working for a real estate sales company called N-Nine, which had purchased the unit for 3.75 million yen. In arranging the deal, the suspect used a real estate purchase contract.
Online banking
The man suffers from dementia and was living alone at the time. The crime came to light when his son, who lives far away, contacted police.
The had man entrusted his son with his bankbook, seal, cash card and other items. The son noticed the money movement about six months after the lease was signed.
According to police, Tomizuka and his accomplices arrived at the man’s home around the time of the deal. They are believed to have had the man register for an online banking account and then had him transfer money.
The apartment the man purchased was jointly owned by three people, including two elderly women he did not know. Police believe that Tomizuka and his accomplices also forced these two women into signing contracts for high prices.
According to police, there was already a tenant in the unit. However, no changes to the lease were made.
Civil lawsuit
The man’s relatives filed a civil lawsuit against the real estate company, seeking the return of their money.
The lawsuit ruled that the amount of the transaction was very high, and that the real estate company was fully aware of the man’s significantly impaired abilities, ordering a full refund.
According to investigators, the company is believed to be nearly identical to another real estate agency whose employee was arrested in 2024 on suspicion of the same type of quasi-fraud.
These agencies are believed to be a real estate fraud group that uses multiple company names and repeatedly uses the same tactic to get elderly people with declining cognitive function to sign real estate contracts for high prices. Total losses are estimated to be as much as 200 million yen.
Police are now investigating who may have served as accomplices for Tomizuka.
