Woman arrested for pretending to be Teru

Woman arrested for posing as member of 'Glay,' tricking fan into sending money

MATSUYAMA -- Police have arrested a woman for posing as vocalist "Teru" of the popular rock band "Glay" and tricking a fan into paying large sums of money with promises of marriage.

The arrested woman, Mayumi Saito, a 31-year-old housewife in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, is charged with posing as Teru on a cell-phone website created by the victim, posting messages such as "I think I'll be OK after about 10,000 yen more," and tricking the victim, a 45-year-old woman from Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, into wiring money 13 times in March of this year for a total of 98,000 yen.

Police, however, say that the total amount that Saito scammed the woman out of over the last few years is much more. They say that in the fall of 2006, Saito began her scheme by accessing the woman's page and claiming to be an acquaintance of Teru. From around September of 2007, Saito began posing as Teru himself, writing comments such as, "I'm going to divorce, but I need money for the divorce payments. When it's all done, let's live together. I promise I will come to you."

Police say that including the payments made in March of this year, Saito tricked the woman into sending money around 900 times to multiple bank accounts, adding up to a total of around 16 million yen.

According to police, Saito has admitted to the accusations, saying she "used the money for living expenses." Police are investigating for accomplices in the crime as well as any other victims.