Five people were arrested Wednesday for allegedly defrauding insurance firms by faking traffic accidents, Tokyo police said.
Two of the five, including Naoto Maruyama, 40, have already been indicted in a separate insurance fraud case.
According to an investigation, the five drove a rented car into an empty minicar in Iwatsuki, Saitama Prefecture, on the night of Aug. 3, 2002. They later claimed that four of the five members had been in the minicar and defrauded insurers out of some 7.5 million yen in compensation for the time they were unable to work.
Investigators said they suspect the five faked 29 accidents in the 10 years to 2003 and collected some 120 million yen. About 50 other people were probably involved, they said.