Suspect ate over 1,000 free meals in two years. (NHK)
A 38-year-old man from Nagoya, Japan, named Takuya Higashimoto, exploited a loophole in a food delivery platform's refund mechanism to enjoy over 1,000 free meals in two years, causing sellers a loss of more than 3.7 million yen (approximately HK$188,000).
Police stated that suspect Takuya Higashimoto registered 124 accounts using fake names and fictitious addresses from 2023 to the present. He repeatedly ordered high-priced items such as eel bento, hamburger steaks, and ice cream through the platform, selecting the contactless pickup option. After each meal, he would complain in the app that "the meal was not delivered" or "there was an error in delivery," successfully obtaining refunds each time. Police reported that he placed a total of 1,095 orders.
Investigations revealed that Takuya Higashimoto deleted his accounts immediately after committing fraud to evade platform scrutiny, making the investigation significantly more difficult. In July of this year, he ordered and received hamburger steaks, eel rice, and ice cream from the delivery platform "Demae-can," then falsely claimed the meals were not delivered, avoiding payment of over 16,000 yen (about HK$815), and is suspected of fraud. Due to the abuse of the platform's refund mechanism and a growing number of complaints and refund requests in the same area, the platform became suspicious and reported the matter to the police.
Police stated that after his arrest, Takuya Higashimoto confessed to all charges, saying, "I initially just wanted to try it out, but once I tasted the benefits, I couldn't stop." He indicated that he consumed almost all the meals he ordered. The police determined that the suspect was engaged in deliberate fraud. The case has currently been forwarded to the prosecution for further investigation on fraud charges.
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