The victims were told they would earn profits through the resale of tickets to the amusement park complex, the Chiba Prefectural Police said, adding no actual tickets were involved in the scam.

The fraud came to light in a predawn emergency call Oct. 27 in which a man told police he was in trouble with more than a dozen visitors who claimed to have been victimized by his wife.

Police on Oct. 30 arrested his 29-year-old wife, Naomi Furuyama, on fraud charges.

Furuyama, a former saleswoman for an insurance company sponsoring Tokyo Disneyland, solicited relatives and acquaintances since around spring 2006 to give her ¥2,400 each and told them she would pay them ¥5,000 back after reselling Tokyo Disney Resort tickets.

She initially fulfilled her repayment promises but had begun to pocket all the money, police said.