Japanese woman accused of fraud arrested after extradition from Thailand

Japanese police on Wednesday arrested a 62-year-old Japanese woman who was extradited from Thailand to face charges of allegedly running a multimillion-dollar pyramid investment scheme in Japan.

The woman, Setsuko Yamabe, who comes from Kumamoto Prefecture, was arrested by Kumamoto prefectural police after arriving at Haneda airport in Tokyo on Wednesday morning.

Yamaha had been on a wanted list for persuading victims to invest 700 million yen in a fund that she claimed would lend to companies and earn a high rate of return. Yamabe's investors would then recruit additional investors in the fashion of a multilevel marketing scheme.

The scheme went on between 2014 and 2016. Some victims lost millions of yen and one committed suicide, police said in a statement.

Yamabe was arrested on March 30 in the northeastern Thai province of Ubon Ratchathani on a warrant issued by the Kumamoto District Court for "crimes involving investments, deposits, and interest rates," police said. Her documents showed that she had traveled in and out of Thailand 15 times.

© Japan Today/AP