crime

Kyoto police arrest man for selling counterfeit rare Yu-Gi-Oh! card

13 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

Investigators from the Kyoto Prefectural Police’s Shimogamo Precinct have cracked a counterfeiting case, nabbing their man halfway across the country. On Oct 23, Shunki Iwasaki, a 29-year-old resident of Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward, was placed under arrest and now stands to face a variety of charges.

The arrest comes eight months after Iwasaki passed off the counterfeit items as the real thing something he admits to doing. However, he wasn’t dealing in illicit duplicates of classic art, paper currency, or any of the other wares often involved in counterfeiting crimes. No, Iwasaki was trying to get a quick score by selling a counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh! card.

It wasn’t just any Yu-Gi-Oh! card, either. In mid-February, Iwasaki posted a listing on Yahoo! Auctions, one of Japan’s most popular online marketplaces, where he said he was selling a Lorelei, the Symphonic Arsenal card. Lorelei was never available in commercially sold packs of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, being instead given to winners of the 2008 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship tournament, and investigators say there are only six genuine examples in the whole world.

A 20-something woman living in Kyoto purchased Iwasaki’s card, rendering payment to him of 400,000 yen. However, after receiving the card, the woman noticed that the background in the illustration was much more colorful than it should be, with a rainbow-like array of hues. She then went to the police who were able to track Iwasaki down.

However, while Iwasaki admits that he “figured the card was probably a fake,” he didn’t make the imitation Lorelei, and so the Kyoto police are currently looking into the avenue by which Iwasaki obtained the card in hopes of bringing the counterfeiter himself to justice as well.

Still, Iwasaki’s actions were enough to get him arrested, with the initial charges filed being copyright infringement ones, since the card bore the name and logo of Yu-Gi-Oh! parent company Konami. Investigators are also determining whether or not fraud charges are applicable, though they seem incredibly likely, considering that the hefty priced the woman paid for the piece of paper was entirely dependent upon the assumption that it was a genuine, official card,

It’s unclear whether or not Iwasaki still has the woman’s money, and by extension whether or not she’s going to get it back. However, considering that some Yu-Gi-Oh! cards have been offered for sale for as much as 45 million yen, even if the money she gave Iwasaki is gone forever, things could have been far worse. For all the rest of us, the incident serves as an important reminder of the importance of verifying the authenticity of collector’s items before completing the transaction, and if you can’t, you might be better off sticking with admiring rare Yu-Gi-Oh! items the next time every card from the franchise gets displayed together.

Sources: Yahoo! Japan News/MBS via Otakomu, Jiji, FBS

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Japanese woman seeks justice after buying four million-dollar bills from counterfeiters

-- Five Chinese nationals arrested in Japan for translating manga, games for distribution

-- Every Yu-Gi-Oh! card ever, all in one place at awesome Tokyo train station display 【Photos】

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

13 Comments
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@Jonathin. I would suggest you then not use currency as what you posted can be applied to most, if not all, paper money

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Is this still even a thing?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

No, you don't, as letting a 10-year-old trade for profit would violate all kinds of T&S and no doubt violate both contract and criminal law. His parents or guardians are trading these cards on his behalf.

Wait, you don't seriously think that people only do things that are entirely within rules, regulations, and laws, do you?

That's a failure in logic if you think that this kid isn't doing it simply because he's not supposed to be doing it. If that logic were correct, the entire planet would be crime free! There would be no jaywalkers! No litterers! It would be a perfect planet.

But it's not a perfect planet. The T&Cs may catch this kid at some point, but it doesn't mean he isn't doing it now, even if you claim he's not.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If you are dumb enough to pay 400,000 Yen for a stupid Yu-Gi-Oh card maybe you deserve to be ripped off

Blaming the victim. Classy.

It's never someone's fault when someone else steals from them. The belief that it is simply because you don't like the thing that was stolen is a real disgusting and pathetic belief. You probably have a ton of stuff that the rest of us don't like - maybe someone should steal it, and show you that you deserve to have it stolen for daring to own something that hasn't been cleared as 'ok to own'.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

400,000yen seems like a high price but if it really is only one of 6 in existence then I almost feel like it was a bargain (if it was legit). I don't know anything about card games but I know in some fandoms such a rare item could be worth millions of yen and I'd imagine Yugioh has enough players that a few of them are hardcore enough to want to own such a rarity at any price.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The punishment should fit the crime. Fine him ¥400,000. He didn't kidnap (imprison) anyone, so why should he be imprisoned? Konami can file a civil charge later.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I just will never contribute to a system where the value of an object is non correlated to its cost of making (out of legal currencies of course)

It brings corruption...

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

I know a 10 year old boy who was/is making up to ¥200000 a month trading these cards. He buys and sells the ¥5000-¥10000 range. I wonder where his buyers who I assume are under 16 can get ¥10000 for a small picture card?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

If you are dumb enough to pay 400,000 Yen for a stupid Yu-Gi-Oh card maybe you deserve to be ripped off

Everyone has something they collect and are willing to spend to add to their collection. Who are we to judge what someone chooses to do with their own money and hobby?

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Not that dumb if it's worth 600,000 yen in a year or two.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

If you are dumb enough to pay 400,000 Yen for a stupid Yu-Gi-Oh card maybe you deserve to be ripped off

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

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