Nepalese men posing as Ohtani arrested over fraud charges
Tokyo police have arrested a Nepalese man and his father for allegedly pretending online to be baseball star Shohei Ohtani and swindling an elderly woman out of ¥1 million ($6,880).
Niure Suman Kumar, 26, and his father, Sharma Padma Nath, 44, were arrested on Tuesday by Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department and have admitted to the allegation, according to investigative sources.
The police believes that Kumar received money from the victim in her 80s and that a fraud group is behind the case. Details are being investigated.
The Nepalese suspects, both living in Tokyo's Adachi Ward, are believed to have swindled ¥1 million from the woman in Tokyo's Minato Ward in early to mid-November last year, conspiring with others.
According to the police, the suspects contacted the woman on Facebook, pretending to be Ohtani. After communicating on the Line messaging app for several months, they asked the woman if she could provide money as an "insurance fee."
The suspects then told the woman that they would go to Tokyo to see her. Kumar pretended to be Ohtani's agent and received cash near the woman's house.
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Japan Times
5 hours ago
- Japan Times
Nepalese men posing as Ohtani arrested over fraud charges
Tokyo police have arrested a Nepalese man and his father for allegedly pretending online to be baseball star Shohei Ohtani and swindling an elderly woman out of ¥1 million ($6,880). Niure Suman Kumar, 26, and his father, Sharma Padma Nath, 44, were arrested on Tuesday by Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department and have admitted to the allegation, according to investigative sources. The police believes that Kumar received money from the victim in her 80s and that a fraud group is behind the case. Details are being investigated. The Nepalese suspects, both living in Tokyo's Adachi Ward, are believed to have swindled ¥1 million from the woman in Tokyo's Minato Ward in early to mid-November last year, conspiring with others. According to the police, the suspects contacted the woman on Facebook, pretending to be Ohtani. After communicating on the Line messaging app for several months, they asked the woman if she could provide money as an "insurance fee." The suspects then told the woman that they would go to Tokyo to see her. Kumar pretended to be Ohtani's agent and received cash near the woman's house.
6 hours ago
Nepalese Man Posing as Ohtani Arrested over Fraud Charges
News from Japan Jun 25, 2025 17:07 (JST) Tokyo, June 25 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo police have arrested a Nepalese man and his father for allegedly pretending online to be baseball star Shohei Ohtani and swindling an elderly woman out of 1 million yen. Niure Suman Kumar, 26, and his father, Sharma Padma Nath, 44, were arrested on Tuesday by Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department and have admitted the allegation, according to investigative sources. The MPD believes that Kumar received money from the victim in her 80s and that a fraud group is behind the case. Details are being investigated. The Nepalese suspects, both living in Tokyo's Adachi Ward, are believed to have swindled 1 million yen from the woman in Tokyo's Minato Ward in early to mid-November last year, conspiring with others. According to the MPD, the suspects contacted the woman on Facebook, pretending to be Ohtani. After communicating on the Line messaging app for several months, they asked the woman if she could provide money as an "insurance fee." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
The Mainichi
7 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Father, son accused of impersonating MLB star Shohei Ohtani to defraud elderly Tokyo woman
TOKYO -- The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested two men on June 24 on suspicion of fraud after they allegedly posed as Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani on the free messaging app Line and swindled 1 million yen (about $6,900) from a woman in her 80s. Officers at Takanawa Police Station identified the suspects as Nepalese nationals Suman Kumar Niure, 26, and his father, Padma Nath Sharma, 44, both residents of Adachi Ward, Tokyo. The suspects allegedly worked with other unidentified individuals to impersonate Ohtani in early to mid-November 2024. According to investigators, they sent multiple fraudulent messages to the elderly victim, a resident of Tokyo's Minato Ward, through Line. Pretending to be Ohtani, the suspects wrote messages such as, "Because I'm the world's No. 1 player, my insurance fees are very high. I need tens of millions of yen, but I don't have enough," and "Could you please pay for my insurance?" On Nov. 22, Niure allegedly posed as Ohtani's representative and received 1 million yen in cash from the victim near her residence. Both suspects have reportedly admitted to the allegations. Police said the fraudulent Line account used Ohtani's photo as its profile picture and was named "Shohei Ohtani." Niure reportedly transferred most of the cash received from the woman into Sharma's bank account. Investigators believe the suspects may have swindled an additional several million yen from the same victim.
