Press "Enter" to skip to content

Yakuza members suspected of swindling elderly in Saitama

GIFU (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday raided an office of a criminal syndicate in Gifu City whose members are suspected of swindling elderly persons in Saitama Prefecture, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 31).

At around 10:30 a.m., officers entered the office of the Nouchi-gumi, an affiliate gang of the Kodo-kai, in search of evidence in the alleged swindle of 500,000 yen in cash from a 79-year-old woman living in Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture in November of last year.

Police had already arrested Taisho Taka, 28, and Yasuyoshi Sakai, 37, and six other suspects in the case. Taka and Sakai are members of the Kodo-kai, which is the top affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest criminal syndicate.

Taisho Taka of the Kodo-kai (Twitter)

In carrying out the fraud, the suspects obtained the woman’s bankbook and bank cards by having a person pose as a city employee on the telephone and falsely explain that she was eligible for an insurance payout.

The cards were then used the withdraw the 500,000 yen, police said.

Taka and two other suspects deny the allegations. Meanwhile, four suspects admit to the charges. The eighth suspect has declined to comment, police said.

Two of the suspects, including Sakai, allegedly used similar means to swindle two other elderly women in Saitama out of 5.1 million yen.