Tokyo police have arrested a group that includes dentists for allegedly charging falsified dental fees by exploiting foreign students' insurance cards, with losses estimated at ¥20 million ($128,836).
The Metropolitan Police Department’s international crime division said it has arrested dentist Hirotaka Koyama, 34, of Osaka’s Nishi Ward, and Ravi Shahi, 37, a Nepalese national with no fixed occupation living in Nagoya’s Nakagawa Ward, on fraud charges.
Five others, who were initially arrested on fraud charges by October last year and who have since been indicted, have also been rearrested. Among them is Akira Oishi, 61, who is also a dentist.
The seven suspects are accused of submitting falsified medical fee statements to local authorities between May and October 2023 to illegally obtain approximately ¥20 million in reimbursements.
Police said that in one scheme in early June 2023, the group falsely claimed to have treated 62 foreign students and technical trainees from Nepal, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, and fraudulently obtained around ¥2.87 million in medical fees.
Oishi and his associates allegedly advertised free dental checkups, which attracted foreign students. While they were examined, their insurance cards were photographed. The suspects then used the information to fabricate false medical statements under Koyama’s name and submitted them to local governments in Aichi and Mie prefectures to claim reimbursements.
“It's easier to get caught with Japanese patients, but foreigners are harder to track,” Oishi reportedly told investigators.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.