The Osaka Prefectural Police were transferred from Ghana on the 8th, accusing them of defrauding two men in Kyoto of cash using a method called "international romance fraud," in which a person they met on a matching app pretending to be a foreigner was tricked into making them fall in love. A Japanese male suspect was arrested on suspicion of fraud.
Hikaru Morikawa (58), whose residence and occupation are unknown, was arrested.
According to the police, in about a year until September 2018, two men, a 55-year-old man living in Kyoto Prefecture and a 63-year-old man living in Nagano Prefecture, together with other suspects, paid a total of about 1.5 million yen. Suspicion of fraud is held as defrauding.
The suspects used a dating app to claim themselves as Japanese female doctors and American writers abroad, and demanded living expenses and other expenses through what is known as an "international romance scam," in which men develop romantic feelings for them. It is believed that
Morikawa, who is believed to be the leader of the group, was detained in Ghana where he was staying last month on suspicion of staying illegally, was transferred to Japan on the morning of the 8th, and was arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police at Kansai Airport.
The police are investigating the actual situation, as there was a record that 390 million yen was deposited from 65 people who are believed to be victims in the group's account for about five years until June last year.