Water heater inspection business method is ``dangerous'' and lies - 8 people arrested on suspicion of fraud - 2.2 billion yen sales - Metropolitan Police Department

As of the 9th, the Metropolitan Police Department's Living Economy Division had arrested eight people, including Nobuhide Nuka (36) of Teramachi, Hachioji City, Tokyo, who is the actual manager of the remodeling company "Daian Equipment" (Tokyo), on charges of fraud and other charges, after lying about gas water heaters being inspected and telling them that they were ``incompletely burning and dangerous.'' The company, as a corporation, was also referred to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the Specified Commercial Transactions Law. The department has not confirmed whether it approves or disapproves.

Malicious remodeling incident causes record-high damage of over 15 billion yen, with Tokuryu involved

According to the division, Suspect Nukanobu and others targeted elderly people's homes and made arrangements to visit them. Since 2023, the company is estimated to have signed approximately 7,600 contracts for water heater inspections, generating sales of approximately 2.2 billion yen. Sales for the year ending January this year amounted to approximately 850 million yen in 19 prefectures, and 90% of subscribers were over 70 years old. Dozens of contracts have been confirmed from elderly people who are visually impaired or who are suspected of having dementia, and the division is conducting a detailed investigation.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of visiting the home of a man in his 70s in Fuchu, Tokyo, in June last year, forcing him to replace a gas water heater by saying things like ``carbon monoxide was emitting more than seven times the standard'' even though there was no legal standard, and defrauding him of 564,300 yen.