TOKYO, May 16 (News On Japan) – The president and seven employees of The Grand Shield, who were previously exposed in the Japanese media for financial problems with braces, have been arrested for selling high-yield bonds without registration, which have an annual return of 20% pledge . Two women among the suspects are believed to have raised 4.6 billion yen alone.
Eight arrested for violating the Financial Instruments and Exchanges Act
Yoshitaka Nakamura (June last year): “Our company is in a situation where we are being hit with a double blow. I have also been asked why this has happened consecutively, but I would like to ask myself.”
A year ago, Nakamura, president of The Grand Shield, gave an exclusive interview. Seated on a large chair adorned with gold ornaments, the room was filled with gold bars and wine cellars.
The Grand Shield has also been involved in financial difficulties recruiting monitors for braces. Customers were promised “virtually free” dental corrections if they paid nearly 2 million yen upfront, but both treatments and refunds were halted.
However, this arrest is not related to braces, but to the violation of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act regarding bonds. The suspects promise high returns of around 20% per year and are said to have collected around 8 billion yen from around 1,300 investors. Eight people have been arrested.
Three women arrested for participating in bond sales
Nakamura (September 2018): โThank you all for gathering here today.โ
The images are from a birthday party held in 2018. In attendance were members of Trustel, a management consultancy firm that issued the bonds, and The Grand Shield, which sold the bonds. Six of the eight arrested were present.
Nakamura (September 2018): “Thanks to all the intense people, I feel like I’ve had an intense life. I’m probably the richest person here today.”
Nakamura reportedly started selling Trustel bonds a year earlier. The participants were all smiling, indicating a successful fundraising effort.
Three women who attended the birthday party, smiling and close, were arrested: 38-year-old Hiromi Akimoto, 35-year-old Keiko Satake and 34-year-old Chie Kagii.
The three competed in bond sales and were sales rivals. Satake is said to have collected about 1.964 billion yen, and Akimoto about 2.65 billion yen.
Satake (September 2018): “I always had the desire to succeed and believed I would, but I couldn’t quite achieve it. It was thirty years of frustration, but meeting Nakamura and getting guidance on different methods , I could finally take steps towards my success.”
How did they raise the money? A former employee speaks
How did Akimoto and Satake collect such large sums of money?
Former Grand Shield employee: “They were good at what are known as ‘dating sales tactics’ because they had worked in nightlife in their early 20s. They were skilled in that area.”
Many male employees were attracted to Satake’s charm and supported her in closing deals.
Satake: “I call those people there ‘Satake’s Children’ (laughs).”
According to a former employee of The Grand Shield, the two women “had a close relationship with Nakamura.”
Former Grand Shield employee: โThey made sales calls to Nakamura and signed contracts with several wealthy individuals. Earning a lot was seen as a virtue, and The Grand Shield was one such company. They revered Nakamura as a god and their faith was reflected in their sales performance.โ
Akimoto reportedly used the last name “Watanabe” until just before her arrest. The victims are furious.
Victim: โShe may have changed her last name to avoid being identified upon arrest.โ
When asked why she changed her name before the arrest, her mother replied:
Akimoto’s mother: “My daughter divorced her husband about six months ago and changed her last name to that of my former husband. I don’t know the reason, but she said she wanted to start over with the new last name.”
Bracket customers are also being pushed to buy bonds
The eight arrested are believed to have collected a total of 8 billion yen, promising an annual return of 20%. Some bond customers were also prompted to buy bonds.
Former Grand Shield employee: โSome people bought bonds worth millions or tens of millions of yen. In general, the wealthy were targeted. The brackets were recommended to workers and young women. Initially, both the bonds and the bracket payments were made correctly, building trust and making people want to try both of The Grand Shield’s products.โ
A woman in her 30s who bought braces and bonds worth 3 million yen: “They said there were multi-level guarantees, so even if there was a problem, the money would be returned.”
Woman in her 30s who bought braces and bonds worth 2 million yen: “I was told I would never lose money.”
Laughter during the emergency meeting
Nakamura (November last year): “(Q: Nakamura, won’t you pay back the victims? Have you fulfilled your responsibility?)”
Nakamura quietly got into a taxi, covered his face with his phone, and left the scene.
In last year’s interview with the program, he said: “Our company has made no profit and received no money.” However, The Grand Shield’s office was filled with luxurious furnishings, gold bars and lavish ornaments, along with a cellar containing dozens of bottles of wine.
During the emergency meeting in February last year with The Grand Shield and Trustel, they discussed the money raised from customers as follows:
Grand Shield employee: “We can only wait another month. The bank has already stopped payments. But we are going to transfer anyway.”
Trustel member: “We can’t blame Ukraine (invasion).”
It was clear that they were not taking the inability to make interest payments seriously.
On the scheduled transfer date, a suspected victim directly visited Trustel’s headquarters when interest payments were not made.
Woman in her 40s who bought bonds worth 2 million yen: “The place was empty. My legs gave out.”
After the scandal broke, employees disappeared.
Confrontation with the president of Trustel… “Will the money go back”
Based on information that Trustel President Akira Takahashi, 61, appeared in court in September last year, victims waited outside the courthouse to confront him.
Creditor: โYou are President Takahashi, right? President Takahashi, give the money back. The victims suffer. Is there no apology? My family and I are all in trouble. Are you ignoring us? President, give us an answer. There was no explanation, and suddenly we lost contact. Is it Nakamura’s fault?”
Takahashi: “I have nothing to say.”
“(Q: Don’t you have anything to say?) I told you I have nothing to say.”
Creditor: “Hundreds of people have used their family or business money.”
Where did the 8 billion yen go?
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is investigating to determine the full extent of the case.
Source: ANN
