The Self-Defense Forces handed prosecutors their cases on five National Defense Academy cadets suspected of swindling insurance companies out of hundreds of thousands of yen in payouts, a Defense Ministry source said.
The cadets falsely claimed they were hospitalized with injuries to illegally claim the insurance payouts, the source said Thursday.
Using personal computers and scanners, the five allegedly produced fake medical cards they claimed were issued by the academy's medical office between June 2012 and this May. The cadets then listed various medical services they purportedly received to claim insurance payouts for nonexistent treatments and hospital stays, the source said.
An insurer spotted the scam after one of the cadets repeatedly demanded insurance payouts over a short period of time.
Because other cadets have told SDF investigators they learned how to commit insurance fraud from an academy graduate who is now serving as an SDF official, the investigators suspect similar scams may have been committed in the past, the source said.
An academy official said it will take strict measures against the five cadets once the investigation is complete.