“I Had to Keep Up My Lifestyle as a Pilot”: The Excuses a Romance Scammer Gave in Court

The trial of Katsunori Yoshizawa (40 at the time of his arrest), who is charged with fraud and other offenses for allegedly posing as a pilot and swindling multiple women he met on social media out of money, was held at the Tokyo District Court on September 15.

“The defendant, Yoshizawa, met Victim A through a dating app in October last year. He carried around business cards and a suitcase of the kind commonly used by airline crew members, and the woman completely believed his claims that he was a pilot. They began living together in November.

Yoshizawa told her, ‘I’m at an age where I want to get married right away, regardless of how long we’ve been dating.’ He even met her family, and they had already booked a wedding venue with plans to hold the ceremony in April this year. He lied to her, claiming he needed money for the wedding deposit and the purchase of a home, and swindled her out of 1.4 million yen. According to the indictment, he also approached another victim, B, suggesting she open a NISA investment account for their future, and defrauded her of 500,000 yen. When B investigated, she found no evidence that the account had ever been opened, and the balance in her bankbook had fallen to 130,000 yen,” said a social affairs reporter for a national newspaper.

Victim A canceled her life insurance policy and borrowed money from relatives to raise the 1.4 million yen. She stated, “I cannot forgive him. I don’t want him ever to get out of prison.” Victim B also expressed her strong desire for punishment, saying, “I want him to give back the time and money I spent.”

Yoshizawa appeared in court with a shaved head and black-rimmed glasses featuring green accents. Wearing a tracksuit and with a stocky build, he did not give the impression of someone who would be popular with women. When the presiding judge asked him about the charges, he admitted them, saying, “There is no mistake in the allegations.”

During the questioning of the defendant that took place that day, his motives were laid bare: a frivolous, self-centered pattern of behavior in which he prioritized his own desires without regard for the women’s feelings, along with a complete lack of responsibility.

After graduating from high school, Yoshizawa worked in the care sector. In 2019, he married his second wife. He had been married three times and had two children with his second wife. At the time of his arrest, he was unemployed and still married to his third wife. Although he had pretended to be a single pilot, the reality was that he was unemployed and had a wife and children.

When questioned by his defense attorney about having misrepresented his identity, Yoshizawa said, “I had an inferiority complex about my educational and employment background.” Asked why he had pretended to be a pilot, he replied, “The salary is high, and I’ve always liked airplanes.” He used the money he swindled from the women to cover dating expenses and living costs, but explained that “I had to maintain my lifestyle as a pilot,” adding that he had actually been struggling financially in his everyday life. When asked how he felt about the situation now, he apologized, saying, “This is the first time in my life I’ve been arrested, and I regret causing the victims emotional distress.”

During the subsequent questioning by the prosecutor, Yoshizawa was asked why he had started using dating apps. He answered, “After our child was born, my wife was busy with work and childcare, and I felt lonely because she no longer saw me as a man.”

The case came to light after one of the women he had defrauded lost contact with Yoshizawa and consulted the police. The police repeatedly tried to contact him in an effort to speak with him, but he ignored every attempt. Asked why, he replied, “I forgot to get back to them.” When the prosecutor pressed him, asking, “Is it really possible to forget something like that?” he persisted in making self-serving excuses, responding, “I was overwhelmed with my own life, and I was doing everything I could just to survive.”

Despite still being married to his third wife, Yoshizawa had entered into relationships with other women. Asked about this, he offered a convenient interpretation of events, claiming, “I was forcibly separated from my previous wife when we divorced [editor’s note: meaning he was made to break up with her], so I thought my third wife had filed for divorce. I started dating believing I was single.” His behavior was utterly self-centered to the very end.

The prosecution argued that Yoshizawa had a high likelihood of reoffending due to the habitual nature of his crimes and requested a sentence of four years and six months of imprisonment. The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on September 30.