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Woman arrested for swindling deaf victims using sign language - MSN-Mainichi Daily News
A woman suspected of swindling 2.7 billion yen from some 270 deaf victims by using sign language to persuade them to hand her money was arrested on Wednesday, police said.
The 55-year-old woman, Yoko Kobayashi, was arrested along with two other suspects on suspicion of fraud. She has reportedly admitted to the allegations against her.
"I can't complain if my actions are labeled fraud," Kobayashi was quoted as telling police.
Investigators said Kobayashi obtained a list of people who had attended schools for the deaf and from about 2000, she used sign language to persuade them to hand her money, saying she would give them high rates of interest in return.
In the specific incident for which she was arrested, she allegedly approached a 53-year-old man in Yamanashi Prefecture in March 2005, and used sign language to tell him, "If you lend me money, I'll pay you 5 percent interest." She then swindled 23 million yen from him.
Police said Kobayashi learned sign language because there was a person with a hearing disability in her family, and she used connections with schools for the deaf to search for people to give her money.
The 55-year-old reportedly obtained a moneylender's license, and showed her victims authorization documents issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to earn their trust. She also handed them deposit documents.
However, she later started falling behind on interest payments, and didn't respond when people asked her to return the money they had lent her. In about June last year, her office was closed and victims became unable to contact her.
Police said Kobayashi returned only about 600 million yen of the 2.7 billion yen she took from victims, and spent the rest on loan repayments and money to run her business.
In an interview with the Mainichi last year, Kobayashi said, "I didn't go looking for people, but information spread by word of mouth and people started coming to talk to me. I really thought I would be able to return (the investments).
Kobayashi's company, which sold equipment used in welfare work, was founded in 1989. Its products included fax machines and lamps for deaf people to alert them when visitors arrived.
A woman suspected of swindling 2.7 billion yen from some 270 deaf victims by using sign language to persuade them to hand her money was arrested on Wednesday, police said.
The 55-year-old woman, Yoko Kobayashi, was arrested along with two other suspects on suspicion of fraud. She has reportedly admitted to the allegations against her.
"I can't complain if my actions are labeled fraud," Kobayashi was quoted as telling police.
Investigators said Kobayashi obtained a list of people who had attended schools for the deaf and from about 2000, she used sign language to persuade them to hand her money, saying she would give them high rates of interest in return.
In the specific incident for which she was arrested, she allegedly approached a 53-year-old man in Yamanashi Prefecture in March 2005, and used sign language to tell him, "If you lend me money, I'll pay you 5 percent interest." She then swindled 23 million yen from him.
Police said Kobayashi learned sign language because there was a person with a hearing disability in her family, and she used connections with schools for the deaf to search for people to give her money.
The 55-year-old reportedly obtained a moneylender's license, and showed her victims authorization documents issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to earn their trust. She also handed them deposit documents.
However, she later started falling behind on interest payments, and didn't respond when people asked her to return the money they had lent her. In about June last year, her office was closed and victims became unable to contact her.
Police said Kobayashi returned only about 600 million yen of the 2.7 billion yen she took from victims, and spent the rest on loan repayments and money to run her business.
In an interview with the Mainichi last year, Kobayashi said, "I didn't go looking for people, but information spread by word of mouth and people started coming to talk to me. I really thought I would be able to return (the investments).
Kobayashi's company, which sold equipment used in welfare work, was founded in 1989. Its products included fax machines and lamps for deaf people to alert them when visitors arrived.
