Tokyo police have arrested a group, including dentists Hirotaka Koyama and Akira Oishi, for running a scheme that exploited foreign students’ insurance cards to fraudulently claim ¥20 million ($128,836) in dental reimbursements.
Koyama, a 34-year-old dentist from Osaka’s Nishi Ward, and Oishi, a 61-year-old dentist, are accused of submitting falsified medical fee statements to local authorities between May and October 2023. Ravi Shahi, a 37-year-old Nepalese national from Nagoya, was also arrested, along with five other suspects who were initially detained last year.
In one scheme in June 2023, the group falsely claimed to have treated 62 foreign students and technical trainees from Nepal, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, fraudulently obtaining ¥2.87 million in medical reimbursements. Oishi and his team advertised free dental checkups to attract foreign students, who were asked to provide their insurance cards for the fraudulent claims.
The suspects then used the students’ information to create false medical statements under Koyama’s name and submitted them to local governments in Aichi and Mie prefectures.
Oishi reportedly told investigators that foreign patients were harder to track than Japanese patients, making them an easier target for the scam.