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TOKYO - IT seems even high-flying corporate executives can fall prey to scams after Tokyo police said on Tuesday they had arrested a swindler who had defrauded the chief executive of McDonald's Japan.
A police spokesman said that the arrested man, Shigemichi Hayashi, 49, had defrauded a total of 70 million yen (S$914,000) out of two men aged 58 and 63.
Police did not identify the victims, but McDonald's Holdings Japan confirmed that the 58-year-old was its chief executive, Eiko Harada.
He reportedly met the swindler when Mr Harada was head of the Japanese unit of US computer giant Apple.
Mr Hayashi allegedly told his victims that a listed company had asked him to broker a fund investing in mid-term government bonds.
Mr Harada and the other man transferred the money into the fraudster's bank account in several lots, a police spokesman said.
'You can expect to get a significant amount of proceeds. I promise you will make money,' Mr Hayashi told the two men, according to police.
Officers believe that Mr Hayashi, who used to run a software company, devised the fraud because he faced financial difficulty, the spokesman said. -- AFP
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