His firm allegedly operated scheme that conned people of $2b
By Kwan Weng Kin 6 February 2009
TOKYO: For a man accused of engineering one of Japan’s biggest scams, Kazutsugi Nami looked calm and collected when police arrested him yesterday morning.
The 75-year-old was having a boxed breakfast and sipping beer at a restaurant near his central Tokyo home at the time.
No doubt he was well aware, though, that police were also rounding up 21 executives of his L&G firm for helping to operate a scheme that allegedly collected 126 billion yen (S$2 billion) from some 37,000 people.
Some reports suggested his firm may have bilked people of as much as 226 billion yen, which would make it the biggest fraud case in Japanese history.
Nami set up L&G - which apparently is short for ‘ladies and gentlemen’ - in 1987 to sell bedding and health products.
In 2001, he launched a scheme that should have set off alarms immediately, especially given his background.
Nami was a college dropout who, in the early 1970s, had used a multilevel- marketing scheme to sell a device that promised to - but did not - reduce emissions from car engines.
Such marketing, he reportedly said at the time, ‘is like a forbidden fruit, like a drug’.
He was later incriminated in another scam - selling a ‘magic stone’ that he claimed turned tap water into pure natural water.
His 2001 scheme came with another fantastic claim - an annual return of 36 per cent for every one million yen in ‘cooperation money’ deposited with his firm by an investor.
People who fell for it were mostly pensioners and elderly housewives.
Yet three years after that, Nami boldly came up with another scam - he created and sold a fake electronic form of currency called ‘Enten’ that he touted as ‘money that never diminishes’.
Unsuspecting people who deposited 100,000 yen with Nami’s firm received 100,000 yen worth of ‘Enten’ and were told that the sum would be replenished every year if they spent it.
‘Enten’ could be used at bazaars that Nami organised at hotels to buy foodstuffs, clothes and jewellery, and at participating Internet shops.
The reality that they had been cheated began to sink in in February 2007 when Nami told them that he would pay dividends to investors in his other scheme only in ‘Enten’ currency - and not cash. That prompted a series of lawsuits against him.
Police finally raided his firm later that year but critics said they should have cracked down on him much earlier given his reputation as an incorrigible con artist with a criminal record.
Despite being hounded by the media in the past week amid speculation of his impending arrest, Nami did not attempt to go into hiding.
Instead, he appeared on television almost every day, protesting his innocence. He almost appeared to be revelling in the media attention.
‘It is not a scam because we have a business plan,’ he said repeatedly.
But when finally arrested, Nami was well-prepared for jail, reportedly carrying a bag stuffed with underwear, a fountain pen and ink.
2 comments:
Man accused of Japan’s biggest scam arrested
His firm allegedly operated scheme that conned people of $2b
By Kwan Weng Kin
6 February 2009
TOKYO: For a man accused of engineering one of Japan’s biggest scams, Kazutsugi Nami looked calm and collected when police arrested him yesterday morning.
The 75-year-old was having a boxed breakfast and sipping beer at a restaurant near his central Tokyo home at the time.
No doubt he was well aware, though, that police were also rounding up 21 executives of his L&G firm for helping to operate a scheme that allegedly collected 126 billion yen (S$2 billion) from some 37,000 people.
Some reports suggested his firm may have bilked people of as much as 226 billion yen, which would make it the biggest fraud case in Japanese history.
Nami set up L&G - which apparently is short for ‘ladies and gentlemen’ - in 1987 to sell bedding and health products.
In 2001, he launched a scheme that should have set off alarms immediately, especially given his background.
Nami was a college dropout who, in the early 1970s, had used a multilevel- marketing scheme to sell a device that promised to - but did not - reduce emissions from car engines.
Such marketing, he reportedly said at the time, ‘is like a forbidden fruit, like a drug’.
He was later incriminated in another scam - selling a ‘magic stone’ that he claimed turned tap water into pure natural water.
His 2001 scheme came with another fantastic claim - an annual return of 36 per cent for every one million yen in ‘cooperation money’ deposited with his firm by an investor.
People who fell for it were mostly pensioners and elderly housewives.
Yet three years after that, Nami boldly came up with another scam - he created and sold a fake electronic form of currency called ‘Enten’ that he touted as ‘money that never diminishes’.
Unsuspecting people who deposited 100,000 yen with Nami’s firm received 100,000 yen worth of ‘Enten’ and were told that the sum would be replenished every year if they spent it.
‘Enten’ could be used at bazaars that Nami organised at hotels to buy foodstuffs, clothes and jewellery, and at participating Internet shops.
The reality that they had been cheated began to sink in in February 2007 when Nami told them that he would pay dividends to investors in his other scheme only in ‘Enten’ currency - and not cash. That prompted a series of lawsuits against him.
Police finally raided his firm later that year but critics said they should have cracked down on him much earlier given his reputation as an incorrigible con artist with a criminal record.
Despite being hounded by the media in the past week amid speculation of his impending arrest, Nami did not attempt to go into hiding.
Instead, he appeared on television almost every day, protesting his innocence. He almost appeared to be revelling in the media attention.
‘It is not a scam because we have a business plan,’ he said repeatedly.
But when finally arrested, Nami was well-prepared for jail, reportedly carrying a bag stuffed with underwear, a fountain pen and ink.
Take a look at the spybubble scam for a new and innovative way to give some peace of mine.
Post a Comment