On 28 February 2023 the Yamaguchi District Court sentenced a man to prison (with a suspended sentence) for computer fraud. The defendant was entitled to COVID-19 relief money from his town administration, but due to a mistake of town officials he received ¥46,300,000 instead of ¥100,000.
The money was part of a relief scheme for low income households in the Abu municipality. After receiving the money, the defendant transferred the amount to a separate bank account which he used to play online gambling games. The court found that the money transfer without any notification to the bank about the erroneous amount of the money received (which the defendant was aware of) constituted a profit obtained through false information, therefore falling within the scope of the crime of computer fraud. The court, therefore, found the defendant guilty, but given his expression of remorse and the return of the full amount received in excess, the sentence was suspended.
