The founder of an investment group pleaded not guilty Monday to swindling individuals out of more than 1 billion yen through a bogus investment scheme promising high dividends.
Genta Ogami, the 40-year-old founder of the Tokyo-based G.O. Group of investment firms, is accused together with the group's four other executives of organized fraud, defrauding a total of 1.34 billion yen from 135 investors throughout Japan between 1997 and 2002.
When the other four executives -- Fujinori Tada, Eiichi Saka, Yukinari Suzuki and Kiyoshi Haneda -- fully admitted to the charges in the day's court proceedings, presiding Judge Koichi Ideta decided to try them separately to Ogami.