Man suspected in fraud case involving staged traffic accident in Osaka later dies

OSAKA (TR) – A man accused of cheating on a woman in a staged traffic accident died in custody on Thursday, Osaka Prefectural Police said, Kyodo News reports (October 18).

At around 4:50 p.m., a police officer found 47-year-old Naoki Nagano lying on his back and motionless in the cell at the Katano police station. His death was confirmed about an hour later at the hospital where he was taken.

On Wednesday, police arrested Nagano and four other suspects on suspicion of fraud.

The suspects staged a traffic accident involving a 23-year-old woman from Osaka Prefecture. After falsely claiming the woman was responsible for the accident, they defrauded her of 2.1 million yen in cash, police said.

According to police, Nagano was in good health as of Thursday morning. He is believed to have died of illness. However, the cause of death is under investigation.