In Japan, a “sugar baby” was sent behind bars after defrauding men of over a million dollars | Life

According to Business Insider, Mai Watanabe, also known as “sugar baby Riri,” was sentenced on April 22 by the Nagoya District Court, The Japan Times reported.

According to the court’s decision, Watanabe defrauded three men over the age of 50 of approximately 1 million yen between 2021 and 2023. dollars.

It is announced that a woman from one victim 756 thousand. dollars by convincing him that she desperately needed money to pay off a debt. M. Watanabe used a similar story to deceive the other two men.

According to local media, sugar baby Riri spent most of her money at men’s clubs in Tokyo’s Kabukichō district. In these clubs, female customers pay for male company and enjoy alcoholic beverages.

According to Kyodo News, Ms. Watanabe was also convicted of creating a manual on how to carry out similar scams.

Jiji Press news agency reported that in 2022 the convict sold this guide to a 21-year-old woman. She, in turn, cheated a little more than 64 thousand from one man. dollars.

The news agency said Ms. Watanabe was also convicted of evading income tax by concealing about a quarter of the proceeds of the fraud.

In addition to the 9-year prison sentence, the court awarded the woman 52 thousand. dollar fine.

in 2023 The US Federal Trade Commission received 64,003 reports of romance scams totaling more than $1.1 billion. US dollars.

The commission noted that the average loss per person was 2 thousand. dollars—higher than any other type of fraud.

Based on 2023 Commission report, almost 60 percent. of people who lost money to a romance scam that year first contacted the scammer through social networks, websites or apps.