1997 French Open Doubles Winner Arrested for Alleged Fraud

Kochi, July 23 (Jiji Press)--Police in Kochi Prefecture, western Japan, have arrested former professional tennis player Rika Hiraki, who won the mixed doubles title at the 1997 French Open, for her alleged involvement in a social media-based fraud case, it was learned Thursday.

Hiraki, now a 54-year-old company employee, denies the allegations, police sources said.

Hiraki is suspected of conspiring with an unidentified person to defraud a woman in the southwestern city of Kagoshima, then in her 50s, out of 300,000 yen between Feb. 15 and May 30, 2022.

According to the sources, the victim was contacted via the messaging app Line by someone claiming to be a male orthopedic surgeon at a hospital in France and was told that his luggage had been stopped at customs and that he needed money to obtain a certificate.

The victim then transferred 300,000 yen to a bank account under Hiraki's name. About 270,000 yen of the money was later transferred to another account through a crypto-asset account under Hiraki's name. Security camera footage showed a person appearing to be Hiraki withdrawing cash.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]