Scammed Twice: 15 Victims Sue Ex-Diet Member’s Lawyer Over False Recovery Promises

In a case involving a violation of the Lawyers Act (non-representative partnership) in which a law firm claimed on its website that they could recover damages from investment fraud, etc., a total of approximately 500 million yen was collected from approximately 900 people across the country. On the 31st, 15 men and women from Tokyo and six prefectures who had paid the fee filed a lawsuit against four people arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, including a former Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives and lawyer Tomohiro Konno, who was indicted on the same charges, demanding payment of approximately 18 million yen, including return of the deposit. , filed a lawsuit with the Saitama District Court.

Lawyers explaining secondary damage at the Saitama Bar Association Hall in Saitama City

According to the plaintiff’s lawyers who held a press conference after filing the lawsuit, the defendants Konno and his group posted an advertisement on the Internet saying, “We will recover the money lost in the fraud.” They solicited victims of international romance scams and SNS-type investment scams with assertive statements such as, “There is a high probability that you will get almost the full amount back,” and “If you leave it to us, you will get your money back.”

◆“It is necessary to explain the risk of not returning”

However, even if the victim paid the deposit, the money was almost never actually recovered. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Konno lent his lawyer’s name to a group of contractors called “office staff” and had unqualified persons perform legal acts.

Yoko Miyanishi, a lawyer from the defense team, said, “It is difficult to return the damage money, and it may not be possible to recover it, so it is usually necessary to explain the risks (to the client). Making them pay the deposit based on false explanations is an illegal act. It corresponds to that,” he said. The defense team also issued a statement calling on the Japan Federation of Bar Associations and each bar association to set up an advertising review body, stating that “exaggerated and illegal advertisements by lawyers and law firms are increasing secondary damage.” (Natsuko Konno)