The Tokyo District Court on Monday sentenced a man and a woman to 26 months in prison for staging a fraudulent wedding reception in which they pretended to be members of the Imperial family and bilked guests out of 12 million yen in cash and a painting.
Yasuyuki Kitano, 44, and Harumi Sakamoto, 47, staged the sham wedding in April 2003 by pretending to be members of the Arisugawa family, part of the Imperial line that can be traced back to 1625 to Prince Yoshihito, the son of Emperor Goyozei.
About 360 people attended the event, and Kitano and Sakamoto were found guilty of taking 2.94 million yen in cash from 61 of the 137 guests who claimed damages.