TOKYO (TR) – A former employee of a Toyota Motor Corporation subsidiary and a staffer from an IT company have been been accused of concocting a scheme that defrauded more than 100 million yen from the subsidiary. One of the suspects is believed to have spent the defrauded funds on entertainment, reports NHK (Oct. 10).

On around 20 occasions between April 2020 and January 2022, Tomoya Watanabe, a 51-year-old former employee of Toyota Coniq Pro, and Takehiko Sato, the 56-year director of IT company Yonageya, are alleged to have placed fictitious orders valued at a total of around 160 million yen for website maintenance work for Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.

Police have not revealed whether the suspects admit to allegations of fraud.

To pull off the scheme, Watanabe created a paper company. He then claimed payment at that company for the non-existent outsourced work that was billed through Sato’s company, police said.

It is believed that Watanabe received the majority of the defrauded money. He used spent the funds on entertainment, including to cover outlays for gambling and hostess clubs.

The fraud was discovered during an internal investigation at Toyota Coniq Pro. Watanabe was dismissed from the firm two years ago.

Police are investigating the possibility that the suspects used the scheme to collect a total of 360 million yen over a four-year period ending in August of last year.