Dark Job Scam: 6-Hour Hotel Confinement Ends in Brutal Assault

Tied up with zip ties, slashed on the fingers with a knife, and beaten and kicked—the group assault continued until the early hours of the morning.

On March 6, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Investigation Unit for Organized Crime arrested Daiki Yamazaki (29), an unemployed resident of Suginami Ward, Tokyo, along with three other men in their teens and twenties, on suspicion of assault and unlawful confinement. Yamazaki and his accomplices were members of a dark part-time job fraud group. They allegedly confined and brutally assaulted their associate, a 24-year-old man referred to as A.

“A had applied for a dark part-time job through social media and was assigned the role of a receiver—someone who collects money obtained through fraud. In October last year, he swindled a man in his 60s from Tachikawa, Tokyo, out of his cash card and withdrew approximately 2.3 million yen. However, instead of handing the money over to Yamazaki’s group, he allegedly ran off with it.

Enraged, Yamazaki and his group threatened A through a secure messaging app, saying things like, ‘You’re ready for the consequences, right?’ and ‘We’ll forgive you if you do one more job for us.’ In November last year, they lured A out, forced him into a van in Kawaguchi, Saitama, and took him to a hotel in Edogawa, where they confined and assaulted him for approximately six hours, from around 8 p.m. until nearly 2 a.m. the next morning,” said a national newspaper crime reporter.

Called 110 from the room’s landline

The group assault by the four suspects was reportedly brutal. A was repeatedly punched in the abdomen and face over an extended period, suffering facial fractures and other severe injuries that required approximately one month to heal.

“A seized an opportunity to call 110 from the landline in the room where he was confined. He was rescued by the police but was later sentenced to three years in prison in February for theft and other charges. Based on security camera footage from the scene, the police arrested Yamazaki and his accomplices. During questioning, Yamazaki denied the allegations, saying, ‘I didn’t do it,’ while the other three suspects largely admitted to their involvement,” said the same source.

A photographer from this magazine captured Yamazaki being transferred to prosecutors on March 8. He squinted his eyes and appeared to glare at the press.

Tahei Ogawa, a former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist, commented:

“Dark part-time jobs often advertise themselves on social media as white-collar opportunities for easy money, but you must not believe them. Those who apply lightly may find themselves involved in serious crimes like robbery or murder. Once someone enters a criminal group, it’s not easy to leave, even if they start feeling uncomfortable with the orders they receive.

Low-level members such as receivers who collect fraud money and callers who make scam phone calls are controlled through fear. They are often required to provide identification and family information, and any rebellion could lead to threats or harm against their relatives. While running off with the money, as A did, is obviously unacceptable, it’s also common for those who break the group’s rules to be violently punished. Even if the pay seems unusually high, never apply for dark part-time jobs. What they’re doing is clearly illegal.”

Believing that more conspirators may have been involved in A’s assault, the police are continuing their investigation.