TOKYO (TR) – The Osaka District Court has sentenced Hikaru Morikawa to 10 years in jail for being a key determine in a fraud ring in Africa that focused Japanese individuals, stories Mainichi Broadcasting System (Dec. 8).
Morikawa, 60, was extradited from Ghana in August of final 12 months for swindling greater than 30 Japanese individuals out of at the least 110 million yen by posing on-line as varied personas together with an American author and a UN official.
Morikawa is believed to have operated inside a hoop that carried out so-called “International Romance Fraud.”
In finishing up the ruses, perpetrated between between 2017 and 2021, Morikawa pretended to be in love together with his victims. After wooing them with affectionate language, the defrauded funds have been despatched for varied false functions equivalent to “recovering customs fees for sent jewelry.”
At the opening of his trial, Morikawa denied the allegations, saying not one of the victims existed. “I don’t know anything. I was not involved in any way,” he instructed the court docket.
In response, the prosecution demanded a 15-year jail time period, saying that Morikawa performed an especially necessary function throughout the group, equivalent to gathering the defrauded cash and offering it to the ring, receiving 5 % as compensation.
In handing down the ruling, the choose stated on Thursday, “The manner in which he took advantage of the victims’ romantic feelings was nothing short of despicable, and the financial damage was enormous, with some of the victims losing more than 20 million yen, and others losing between several million yen and more than 10 million yen, not to mention the psychological damage caused by his playing on their romantic feelings.”
Born right into a well-off household
According to earlier stories, Morikawa was born right into a well-off household with a college professor father. However, he fell into juvenile delinquency. He went on to carve out a profitable enterprise profession in actual property however misplaced every little thing within the world monetary disaster and ultimately ended up in Ghana, which is the place the ring was based mostly. There he met the chief of the fraud ring whereas working at a resort.
Morikawa can also be stated to have been a “key member” of the ring. The group is believed to have defrauded 65 Japanese women and men of a complete of roughly 390 million yen. About eight Japanese males within the ring, together with Morikawa, have been arrested.
Eight native Ghanaians additionally participated within the crime, together with 34-year-old Nana Kofi Boateng. Nicknamed “The Blue Kofi,” he’s on the run to the United States.
Born right into a well-off household
For weekly tabloid Shukan Post (Dec. 15), non-fiction author Takehide Mizutani interviewed Morikawa on the Osaka Detention Center in May. The following month, writer Shogakukan launched Mizutani’s guide “Report: International Romance Fraud.”
“Nice to meet you,” Morikawa stated upon encountering Mizutani. “I read the letter you sent me. You always come to the court hearings, right?”
Mizutani famous that Morikawa was carrying pajamas and had a sickly pale complexion. His eyes have been dishevelled and, when he opened his mouth, it was clear that his entrance tooth have been lacking.
“I’m not a ‘key member’ or anything like that,” Morikawa continued. “Why do you believe what the police say? The media says [the total defrauded amount was] 400 million yen, but it’s actually less than 100 million, and I haven’t received any compensation.”
He went on to say that he dropped 20 kilograms whereas dwelling in Ghana.
According to Mizutani, the variety of victims of such frauds elevated quickly throughout the unfold of the coronavirus pandemic, which started in 2020. Morikawa’s case is alleged to be the primary to disclose the systematic involvement of Japanese nationals.
Of the 65 victims, 32 have been the topic of the trial. Ranging in age from 40 to 65, they have been comprised of 12 males and 20 ladies. The quantity transferred by every sufferer ranged from about 100,000 yen to 23 million yen.
When requested about these particulars, Morikawa maintained his innocence. “I do not know the details [of the fraud] or what kind of communication took place between the perpetrators and the victims,” he stated.
Belinda Smith, a professor on the Department of Sociology on the University of Ghana, tells Mizutani that almost all Ghanaian perpetrators of the crimes are younger individuals of their late teenagers to mid-20s.
“They drop out of high school or go to university but are unable to get a good job, and the sense of disappointment in their future becomes the gateway to crime,” she says. “Feelings of guilt are also weak.”
She went on to say that this was the primary case she had heard of whereby they’d teamed up with foreigners from a developed nation to hold out the crimes.