OSAKA (TR) – The Osaka District Court has sentenced a former sales manager of a Toshiba subsidiary to four years in prison for defrauding his company of approximately 115 million yen, a crime committed to fund a horse racing habit, reports TBS News (June 17).
According to the ruling handed down on June 17, 47-year-old Yusuke Tanaka, a former sales manager at the Kansai branch of Toshiba Tec, fabricated client orders between 2023 and 2024.
During this period, Tanaka falsely claimed to have received orders and purchased a total of 380 personal computers across 132 separate transactions. He then resold the equipment for personal gain, inflicting massive financial damages on the company.
During the trial, Tanaka admitted to the allegations. Prosecutors revealed that the defendant orchestrated the fraudulent resale scheme specifically to generate cash to pour into horse racing.
In delivering the four-year sentence, the presiding judge severely condemned Tanaka’s actions, emphasizing the continuous and habitual nature of the crimes that led to exceptionally high financial losses.
“The fact that he used his subordinates in an attempt to cover up his actions is highly malicious,” the court stated. “There is no room for leniency regarding his motive of repeatedly committing crimes to pay off debts and fund his horse racing.”
