Senior 'JP Dragon' crime ring member jailed for 42 months
Tomohiro Koyama, 51, is believed to be the third-highest-ranking member of the ring comprising Japanese nationals. He is a former member of another crime group led by Yuki Watanabe, 41, whose members used the pseudonym "Luffy." Watanabe has been charged with robbery resulting in death.
Koyama was detained by Philippine authorities and extradited to Japan in November 2024.
Presiding Judge Yasushi Fuke said that Koyama's actions were "part of an organized and professional crime and very malicious."
"He played an important role so that the whole organization could carry out crimes efficiently," the judge said, noting that Koyama managed ring members as a leader of a team tasked with making scam phone calls to victims. "It must be said that the criminal responsibility is heavy."
Fuke deemed a prison sentence of three years and six months appropriate, citing Koyama's remorse and full compensation to the victim. Prosecutors had sought a five-year prison term.
According to the indictment, Koyama conspired with Watanabe and others in April 2019 to steal eight bank cards from a fraud victim in her 50s in Tokyo and withdraw approximately ¥700,000.
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