Overview

• Osaka Prefectural Police in Toyonaka announced on Aug. 28 that 48-year-old Kato Kyohei was arrested and sent to prosecutors on suspicion of fraud and document forgery.
• He is accused of deceiving seven buyers in their 40s to 60s by presenting forged land-sale contracts and collecting deposits for properties in Osaka and Fukuoka.
• Police allege he exploited property data from his former company to fabricate convincing paperwork for the sham transactions.
• Investigators say he sometimes claimed ties to a religious group to pitch deals for land registered under the organization’s name.
• The alleged scheme ran from 2021 to 2025, and the probe followed a complaint filed by a victim in August 2023.