“ルフィ”事件じけん「かけ子こ」被告ひこく 懲役ちょうえき4年ねん6か月かげつ実刑じっけい判決はんけつ 東京とうきょう地裁ちさい

The Tokyo District Court has sentenced a 30-year-old defendant to four years and six months in prison for posing as a police officer and making phone calls from the Philippines as part of a group known as Luffy and others, defrauding victims of 44 million yen in cash.

Haruna Terashima, a 30-year-old unemployed defendant, was accused of fraud and other charges for disguising herself as a police officer and making phone calls from a hotel in the Philippines, which served as a base for the Luffy Group, six years ago. She allegedly swindled a total of 44 million yen in cash from five elderly people in Japan as a kakeko phone scammer.

In previous trials, the defendant largely admitted to the facts, but stated, I was introduced to a resort part-time job on social media, and when I went to the Philippines, I was taken to a criminal base.

He stated things like, At first, I didnt know it was a scam, and partially denied recognizing it as a crime.

In the verdict on the 4th, Judge Yu Suzuki of the Tokyo District Court pointed out, By the day after arriving in the Philippines, he was already aware that he was involved in organized crimes targeting the elderly, and rejected the defendants claims.

On top of that, there were ways to cut ties, such as seeking help from the embassy or family.

He continued to work as a kakeko for the purpose of obtaining rewards, which must be severely condemned, and bears heavy responsibility. Therefore, he was sentenced to four years and six months in prison.

The circumstances leading up to getting involved in dark part-time jobs—what the defendant spoke about in court are the circumstances that defendant Terashima described in court regarding how he became involved in dark part-time jobs.

[Invited to a resort part-time job on social media] The defendant, who was living in Nagano Prefecture, says that around October 2019, when she was 24 years old, she was followed by a certain account on Twitter at the time.

That account posted many poems about romance, and in the profile section it said things like introducing work-from-home jobs.

When we started communicating through direct messages, I was invited to work in the Philippines.

I was recommended a resort part-time job, told that there would be lots of Japanese people and that short-term work was fine, so I thought it sounded fun and decided to go along with it as if I were just going on a trip.

The place he was guided to was the Luffy Group base. In November 2019, the defendant went to the Philippines and met up with a guide at the airport.

The next day, I was taken to a room where dozens of people had gathered, and it was only then that I was told I would be making scam calls.

The manual given by the group instructed me to pretend to be a police officer and say things like, Your bank card has been fraudulently used and may be involved in a crime.

Too scared to refuse, I feel sorry for the victim — Why didnt they say no?

The defendant said, I was surprised, but since I had already given my address and contact information, I was scared.

After that, they continued making phone calls within Japan from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and a week later, one of the elderly people who answered the phone had their cash card stolen by a receiver and lost their money.

The defendant looked back and said he felt guilty: What I was saying was a lie, and as a result of making them believe it, I ended up taking their money.

I feel sorry for the victim, he said.

Judge: There were means to cut ties In the ruling on the 4th, Judge Yu Suzuki stated, Even after entering the Philippines, there were means to cut ties with the special fraud group, such as seeking help from the embassy or family.

There are no circumstances to be taken into consideration regarding how they joined the group.

He stated, Criminal responsibility is serious, and a prison sentence should be imposed.