5.6 billion yen fraud by fictitious investment story… The Downfall of an Auto Repair Broker Arrested on Fraud Charges

He defrauded over 70 individuals and corporations.

On October 1, Yasuo Murosaki, 42, an auto repair broker in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, was arrested by the Hyogo Prefectural Police on suspicion of fraud for defrauding a Tokyo-based company executive of approximately 144 million yen. The suspect is believed to have defrauded people of their money by offering them a fictitious investment scheme in which he would return part of the profit from the sale of classic cars he purchased, repaired, and sold.

The suspect was arrested on September 10 for defrauding a man in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture out of approximately 400 million yen using the same scheme. He is believed to have collected approximately 5.6 billion yen from about 70 individuals and corporations so far,” said a reporter from the society section of a national newspaper.

In 2012, Murozaki established “STAR CRAFT,” a company in Higashinada-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, which restores and sells classic cars that have been discontinued. The company restored and maintained classic cars that were no longer in production. He used a 3D scanner and printer to duplicate parts that were no longer available, and his work was highly regarded among old car enthusiasts.

However–.

Despite the debt, the company approached …… with an investment story.

STAR CRAFT” had run into financial difficulties due to business expansion, and by September 2007, the company’s debt from financial institutions had ballooned to 1 billion yen. So, around 2008, Mr. Murosaki began to approach his clients about investment. Since his restoration skills and track record were well known, he must have been realistic, and word spread by word of mouth, and even investors who were not interested in cars began to offer to invest. Murozaki invited investors to his factory and showroom and showed them shiny, restored classic cars of yesteryear to make them trust him.

Investors were easily fooled by the recent surge in the classic car market. However, only a few cars were actually restored.

The company took pictures of cars that had been entrusted to them by customers for repair, and made it look like they had been purchased with the money they had invested. They repeatedly operated the business by using the money they swindled to pay dividends to their investors, but last August, “STAR CRAFT” went bankrupt. It is believed that more than 3 billion yen of the 5.6 billion yen will never be recovered.

The suspect is said to be withholding his admission or denial, saying, “I will talk about it after consulting with my lawyer.