British police are investigating the man who claimed to be offering a 77 million yen reward in last year's search for hostess Lucie Blackman on suspicion of fraud.
Tim Blackman, the father of 21-year-old Lucie, said Essex County Constabulary contacted him earlier this year to inquire whether the man had offered his services as a "middle-man" in an effort to track down Lucie immediately after her disappearance on July 1, 2000.
"He was nothing but a con artist," Blackman said. "My daughter was missing in a country on the other side of the world and he just wanted to make money out of me."