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Saitama cops: Ex-lawyer embezzled ¥8 million from inheritance

A lawyer has been accused of embezzling 8 million yen from an inheritance
A lawyer has been accused of embezzling 8 million yen from an inheritance (coconala.com)

SAITAMA (TR) – A former lawyer was arrested for allegedly embezzling some eight million from a civil servant’s cash inheritance.

Saitama Prefectural Police arrested former lawyer Tatsuhiro Fujikatsu, 58, on embezzlement charges for allegedly misappropriating some 7.7 million yen from a cash inheritance of 27 million yen belonging to the grandparents of a 33-year-old civil servant in June 2012, the Sankei Shimbun reports (June 9).

Police said Fujikatsu has admitted to the charges. An investigation is under way to examine claims he has yet to hand over an outstanding ¥20 million.

The Saitama Shimbun reported that over roughly 29 days from June 28, 2012, Fujikatsu embezzled 7.7 million yen from an inheritance entrusted to him in cash from an unemployed 69-year-old woman and her three children, one of whom is her eldest 33-year-old son who filed a police report in February.

Fujikatsu, who was a member of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association, has reportedly embezzled numerous times to pay off his debts.

The Daini Tokyo Bar Association said it took disciplinary action against Fujikatsu and expelled him in October 2014 for allegedly embezzling ¥150 million from a client.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations delisted Fujikatsu from its attorney list in January 2015.