Con Artist Scams His Way Into Elite Japanese Sushi Club With Wallet of Fake Cash
TOKYO, Japan—If you’re going to enjoy a night on the town, the company of beautiful women, and a delicious meal before going back to prison, you might as well go for the top-of-the line champagne and don’t forget the sushi. This week, the Fukuoka Police in southwest Japan arrested a 39-year-old unemployed man, Koichi Eguchi, on charges of fraud after he attempted to slip out on an expensive cabaret club without paying his 1.1 million yen ($10,300) bill. It was the second time Eguchi bit off more than he could chew at an expensive nightclub.
According to local media and the Fukuoka Prefectural Police, around 9 p.m. on April 11, Eguchi visited a cabaret club—think Mad Men-era Playboy Club without the rabbit ears—in the Nakasu entertainment district of Fukuoka city. He was looking rather scruffy at the time but showed the clerk at the door a wallet stuffed full of cash and told the staff, “I just won three million yen betting on the horses.” (Horse racing and wagering on the races are legal in Japan.)
He proceeded to choose a lovely hostess to sit down and dine with him in the VIP room and ordered beer, booze, several bottles of Dom Perignon champagne, and the most expensive sushi on the menu. He also reportedly ordered drinks and food for other people in the club.