Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a former organized crime member who is the suspected leader of a fraud ring operating in the Kanto area, reports NHK

Yohei Toyama, a 33-year-old former member of a third-tier gang of the Yamaguchi-gumi, is believed to be the head of the ring, which targets elderly persons by having members pose as relatives on the telephone.

In January, an 87-year-old woman living in Ibaraki Prefecture lost 2 million yen in cash to the ring after she was falsely told by a person pretending to be her grandson that he needed financial assistance following the loss of money belonging to his company in a bathroom.

Toyama has not commented on the allegations.

In about 60 incidents, the group is believed to have utilized similar means to swindle victims in the Kanto area out of 100 million yen, according to the Mejiro Police Station.

Police suspect that a portion of the accumulated money went to the gang. According to TV Asahi (Aug. 17), police are seeking the whereabouts of other members of the ring.

Source: ANNnewsCH