Arrested Upper House member Tatsuo Tomobe's wife, his second son and two executives were indicted Feb. 17 on the charges of fraud in connection with the Orange Kyosai mutual fund scandal, prosecution sources said.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office plans to indict Tomobe on Feb. 19 on the same charge, the sources added. Tomobe's son, Momoo, 29, the fund's managing director, has denied committing fraud, while Mikiko Tomobe, 61, the lawmaker's wife and fund secretary general, and the two executives, Noboru Masukawa, 63, and Matsunosuke Ishizaki, 62, have owned up to the charges, according to Metropolitan Police Department sources. The four are suspected of defrauding 12 clients out of 145 million yen. Orange Kyosai collected 9.2 billion yen in the 1990s, including 6.6 billion yen in 1995 and 1996 after Tomobe was elected to the Upper House, according to the sources.
The four have claimed the Upper House member ordered them to collect funds for Orange Kyosai. Tomobe has denied this charge, the sources said. Momoo Tomobe has meanwhile reportedly denied collecting funds for the Orange Super Savings fund, which promised high interest returns.