Trio trying to pay off supercar debt arrested for alleged fraud

Police in Tokyo have arrested three people over a scam in which they allegedly chased down trucks with a supercar and obtained drivers’ personal information to create credit cards.
Takaaki Saito, 32, and Yuki Nomura, 30, were arrested on suspicion of buying two smartphones worth a total of ¥299,600 on July 10, 2023, with a credit card registered to one of the truck-driver victims. Saito and his wife, Chiharu, 33, allegedly committed fraud totaling about ¥99,000 in cash by returning clothes illegally purchased with another credit card.
According to the sources, the couple from Tokyo’s Toyosu Ward and Nomura from Yokohama would chase down trucks and, after stopping them, claim that their expensive vehicle had been damaged by gravel from the truck.
In Tokyo and 10 other prefectures, they took pictures of the truck drivers’ licenses and used that personal information to create multiple bank accounts and credit cards. They also rented several rooms under the names of the drivers to receive the cards by mail.

Saito has remained silent on the fraud and theft charges, informed sources said, noting that Chiharu has denied the allegations while Nomura has admitted to them.
According to sources at Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department, the trio is believed to have created 34 credit cards in the names of nine people using personal information they obtained through similar methods. From December 2022 to May 2024, they accrued about ¥40 million through the scheme.
The money is believed to have been used to repay their supercar loans and pay rent on a high-rise condominium where the Saitos live.