Overview
- Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested former NeoReverse representative Keisai Fukuhara and ex-employee Taishi Nakayama on fraud charges tied to the Tokematch watch‑sharing service.
- Investigators say about 1,700 watches from roughly 650 owners are the subject of complaints, and an estimated 2,300 were transferred to pawn and buy‑back shops nationwide.
- Proceeds from watch sales total about ¥1.8 billion, including roughly ¥800 million routed to online‑casino accounts, with some funds used to purchase cryptocurrency.
- Evidence indicates watches were pawned soon after the service launched in 2021 while borrower demand was minimal, suggesting the operation lacked a genuine rental market.
- Police are tracing assets and travel after learning Fukuhara applied for a passport in November 2023 and left Japan within about three months during a depositor‑recruitment push.