Initially, the young man voluntarily agreed to be questioned by police. But he told them he no longer had the cash.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve already moved the money. It can\u2019t be returned. It cannot be undone. I will not run. I will pay for my crime,\u201d <\/strong>he was quoted as telling authorities, adding that he would \u201catone for his sin.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe next day, he went on the lam.<\/p>\n
Taguchi was apprehended on March 22 last year and charged with computer fraud. He was convicted in late February and sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years.<\/p>\n
The lenient sentence was because the town persuaded each casino to return the full amount to its account.<\/p>\n
Unjust Enrichment<\/strong><\/h2>\nTaguchi pleaded not guilty, claiming he had blown the money \u201cto vent\u201d because he was being harassed at work by town officials after the mistake was uncovered. But the judge didn\u2019t buy it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe defendant committed a crime in order to be in position to gamble in online casinos, and we see in him an attitude that takes lightly of the law,” Judge Taku Komatsumoto said in handing down the sentence.<\/p>\n
Komatsumoto added that Taguchi knew the money had arrived in his bank account by mistake. “The defendant has an obligation to inform, and this is unjust enrichment,” he said.<\/p>\n
The prosecution contended that the act of transferring the money to the e-wallets without notifying the bank of the error constituted computer fraud.<\/strong><\/p>\nIn addition, Abu officials filed a civil lawsuit against Taguchi, demanding legal fees and reimbursement for recovering the money. The two parties have settled for 3.47 million yen (US$27,000).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Japanese man was handed a suspended prison sentence after spending a whole town\u2019s COVID-relief package at black market online casinos. Sho Taguchi, 25, received 46.3 million yen (US$347,000) in COVID-19 relief money in April 2022 because of an administrative error. The funds were intended for distribution among 463 low-income households in the town small […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":264534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81881,21,19],"tags":[85484,85485,48,85483],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Gambler Sentenced After Blowing Town's COVID Relief Package<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n