Police in Aichi say Reon Kawamura (who works as a retail clerk) convinced a 55-year-old self-employed guy in Kasugai to hand over ¥1 million in cash. According to investigators, she spun a story that she was in deep legal trouble and about to lose everything in court. The line was basically: “If I don’t pay this, I’m screwed. Please lend me the money.”
This was three years ago. When she was arrested, she denied it was fraud and claimed she fully intended to pay the money back.
Cops are treating it as a sugar-baby style romance scam. And it doesn’t look like a one-off. At least 13 different men have come forward saying she took money from them, with the total allegedly hitting around ¥30 million. Police are still looking into more cases.
Pretty straightforward example of the “I’ll be in serious trouble if you don’t help me” pitch that some women run on older guys who think they’re in some kind of relationship. The numbers involved are starting to get serious.