Japanese man nabbed for swindling 50 Pinays

MANILA, Philippines - Police arrested a Japanese man for allegedly swindling close to 50 Filipinas, whom he promised marriage and jobs in Japan.

Chief Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr., director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said Takahiro Yamashita, alias Takayuki Matsuoka, 41, was apprehended in an entrapment operation in a mall in Sta. Mesa, Manila shortly after getting marked money from Police Officer 3 Wilmerra Saldia, who posed as a jobseeker.

The CIDG chief added that two women – Glenda Tolentino, 27, of Tondo, Manila and Maricel Badiente, 24, of Valenzuela City – filed complaints against Yamashita for failing to deliver on his promise to marry them and give them jobs in Japan.

Police said Yamashita’s modus operandi was to contact the women through social networking sites, court them, convince them to marry him and then demand money for their visa and other processing fees. After getting the money, police said Yamashita would just relocate and find other victims.

Records show that Yamashita has reportedly duped around 50 women from the Visayas and Mindanao.

Bureau of Immigration records show Yamashita first entered the country on June 11, 1998 and his latest entry was on June 18, 2002. He has been overstaying for almost nine years, Pagdilao said.