It’s well known that Shohei Ohtani is Japan’s most loved celebrity. Committing fraud in the name of a national icon strikes a major nerve. It hasn’t been long since Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing nearly $17 million from him. This time, it’s a bit different. The fraud wasn’t committed against Ohtani, but rather was executed by impersonating him.
Just recently, Tokyo Police charged two Nepalese nationals with impersonating the Japanese phenom. They scammed a nearly 80-year-old woman and tricked her into giving them $6,880 (¥1 million). And apparently, the accused happens to be a father-son duo. The son is a 26-year-old man named Niure Suman Kumar, while the father is a 44-year-old man named Sharma Padma Nath. Both are residents of Adachi Ward in Tokyo.
They were arrested on Tuesday by Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department, and after the investigation, both admitted to the charges. These suspects had already begun contacting the elderly woman months earlier, impersonating Ohtani via Facebook.
After months of exchanging texts on the Line messaging app, the suspects gained her trust. Soon, they made a request. Claiming to be Ohtani, they told the victim that, since he is the world’s No. 1 player, his insurance fees are very expensive.
For the record, the profile had both Ohtani’s name and picture, and somehow, the elderly woman did not suspect it could be a fraud. They told her, “I need tens of millions of yen, but I don’t have enough. Could you please pay for my insurance?” This woman, a resident of Tokyo’s Minato Ward, received multiple fraudulent messages, as revealed by the investigators. Without suspecting anything fishy, she agreed to their request.
Then, on November 22, Niure, pretending to be Ohtani’s agent, arrived at the woman’s residence. That’s where she handed him ¥1 million in cash. In fact, according to police, this crime involved more than this father-son duo. They believe a massive fraud ring is involved behind the scenes and may have scammed this woman out of more millions of yen. Sadly, this is not the first time scammers have impersonated the baseball stars to swindle the elderly.
Before Shohei Ohtani’s name was misused, another victim fell for a similar trap
Before this shocking fraud case in Tokyo, a similar scam unfolded around a year ago. Just like Ohtani’s case, an elderly woman who happened to be a die-hard Philadelphia Phillies fan was scammed. The 70-year-old woman lost a massive amount of $50,000 to this scam. She was tricked by someone who impersonated Phillies shortstop Trea Turner.
Without thinking too much about it, she casually defended Turner while he was being heavily criticized online. A fake account, claiming to be Turner, convinced this woman to chat with him on Google Chat. He somehow managed to earn her trust by referring to Turner’s personal details, on-field plays, and more.
MLB, Baseball Herren, USA Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals Sep 29, 2024 Washington, District of Columbia, USA Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner 7 reacts after video replay confirmed he was tagged out at second base during a stolen base attempt by Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. 2 during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. Washington Nationals Park District of Columbia USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xRafaelxSuanesx 20240929_tcs_ar4_567
For the record, this woman also had Parkinson’s disease. She was manipulated by this scammer for weeks. He reportedly faked having issues with his wife and told the woman he needed to hide his properties from his wife. By then, this woman trusted him. When he asked her to send a large sum of money to multiple accounts, she couldn’t refuse. She intended to help him. By the time she realized that he was not Turner, she had lost $50,000.
While talking to FOX 29, she admitted, “I should’ve known better.” According to police, this scammer was operating from outside the United States. The police soon issued a warning not to trust strangers online, regardless of who they claim to be. Both Ohtani’s case and Turner’s case reflect how scammers manipulate the emotions of vulnerable individuals and fans of big baseball players’ names.
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