TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a woman who allegedly operated as a cash collector for a fraud ring that swindled nearly 2 million yen from victims by impersonating an American military veteran, reports Nippon News Network (June 18).
Atsumi Ikezawa is accused of defrauding a woman residing in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, out of 1.84 million yen in cash last year.
Investigators believe Ikezawa acted as an ukeko (cash receiver) for the syndicate. She allegedly instructed the victim to send the cash to her via registered mail in four separate installments.
According to police, the scam group targeted victims on social media by fabricating stories to elicit sympathy.
Posing as a wounded U.S. soldier and a transport contractor, the scammers sent messages to the victim reading, “I retired after being shot in the war. I want to spend the rest of my life in peaceful Japan.”
Police are continuing their investigation into the wider syndicate behind the emotional manipulation scheme.
