Sankei News reported on Wednesday that the Metropolitan Police Department's investigation section 2 arrested three men suspected of fraud in Fujimino, Saitama on Wednesday. The three suspects, including 47-year-old Shōichirō Takatsu, are accused of running a company under the pretense of acting as the licensors for the use of the characters in Makoto Raiku 's Zatch Bell ( Konjiki no Gash!! ) manga.

In 2010, the suspects allegedly sold the rights to use the likeness of the property's characters in pachinko machine designs to a pachinko manufacturing company based in Kitanagoya, Aichi for over 210 million yen (around US$1.7 million).

The pachinko manufacturing company realized that the creator's signature in the documents was forged. Though the false licensing company sent over an individual pretending to be the original creator of Zatch Bell to the pachinko company to explain, the pachinko manufacturer consulted with the actual Makoto Raiku , who confirmed the forgery.

The suspects allegedly acted in the same capacity for other popular properties, such as Hirohiko Araki 's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure action manga, and Takehiko Inoue 's Slam Dunk sports manga, selling the license to use the characters of those properties to other pachinko machine manufacturers, and may have fraudulently earned approximately 1.3 billion yen (around US$10.8 million). The Metropolitan Police Department are currently investigating the case.

All three suspects have denied the charge.

[Via Hachima Kikō]