Kazutsugi Nami
Kazutsugi Nami (波 和二, Nami Kazutsugi, b. 19 May 1933 in Mie Prefecture) is a Japanese businessman and chairman of Tokyo-based bedding supplier Ladies & Gentlemen (L&G).[1] He has been involved in a number of fraudulent schemes since the 1970s, and was arrested most recently on 4 February 2009 on suspicion of orchestrating a massive investor fraud involving the "Enten" quasi-currency.[2]
APO Japan
In the 1970s, Nami became vice president of APO Japan Co., an auto equipment sales company in Tokyo. The company was involved in a pyramid scheme, collecting investments from about 250,000 people in a scam based on sales of exhaust gas removal devices. The company's operations became a social problem, and it went bankrupt in 1975.[3]
Nozakku
In 1973, before the bankruptcy of APO Japan, Nami established Nozakku Co., a company which sold "magic stones" that were claimed to turn tapwater into natural water.[4] The company's annual sales reached more than 2 billion yen a year before it too went bankrupt in 1978. Nami was arrested in September 1978 by Mie Prefectural police on suspicion of fraud, and was sentenced to prison.[3][4]
PHC
Before his arrest in 1978, Nami also established PHC, a company selling pressure cookers.[4]
L&G and "Enten"
After being released from prison, Nami established the Tokyo-based bedding company L&G in August 1987. The company allegedly derived its income from a pyramid scheme.[3] At L&G, he invented the "Enten" quasi-currency (literally meaning Divine Money in Japanese). In February 2007, L&G dividends were distributed in Enten, rather than in cash, resulting in lawsuits and cancellations of accounts.[5] In October 2007, police searched L&Gs headquarters in Tokyo, suspecting that the company had violated investment laws, and the company declared bankruptcy in November 2007.[5] Nami was arrested in Tokyo on 4 February 2009 on suspicion of large-scale investor fraud along with twenty-one of his associates.[1]
References
- ^ a b "L&G execs arrested over investor fraud". The Japan Times. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Arrests made in what could be biggest investment scam in Japanese history". The Guardian. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c "L&G boss boasted of economic know-how, employed ruthless management style". Daily Yomiuri. 8 February 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c "ウォン天・ドル天構想も、波容疑者「マルチ人生」３０年" (in Japanese). Yomiuri Shimbun. 7 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "Bedding company chairman, workers nabbed over massive investment scandal". The Mainichi Daily News. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help)
External links
{{subst:#if:Nami, Kazutsugi|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1933}}
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|| LIVING = | MISSING = | UNKNOWN = | #default =
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