Exposing The Female Idol Who Was Caught Victimizing Men On Dating Apps
From ghosting to safety concerns, dating can be daunting for just about anyone. But one idol’s criminal history is now serving as a cautionary tale for dating app users everywhere.
In 2013, Yamada Juna joined SKE48, a popular female idol group in Japan. Like some other J-Pop groups, SKE48 has a rotation system that allows current members to “graduate” and new members to take their place. Yamada graduated from SKE48’s Team S unit in 2019, but instead of continuing her career as an idol, she turned to crime.
It all began when Yamada teamed up with Kurumadachi Hiromu, the owner of Nagoya-based consulting company THE. His plan involved using Yamada as bait to lure in unsuspecting male users. In addition to employing her appearance and charm, Yamada claimed to be an investment expert who earned 10 million yen (approximately $60,000 USD) a year by predicting currency exchange rate fluctuations, and more.
According to investigators, Kurumadachi helped Yamada devise a sales pitch to use on her marks when she met with them in person. During the meetup, she would convince these men to pay for her so-called expert advice. Aichi Prefectural Police arrested Yamada, Kurumadachi, and two unnamed accomplices for fraud after Yamada met with a man in 2020 and collected 500,000 yen (approximately $3,339 USD) from him.
At the time of her arrest, investigators stated that Yamada had defrauded over a hundred men and scammed her victims out of roughly 58 million yen (approximately $387,454 USD). In March of 2021, the former idol was convicted of monetary fraud, and she received a four-year suspended sentence. If she commits another crime before her suspended sentence ends in 2025, she will be subject to an 18-month prison sentence.
