Posted on: Saturday, September 18, 2004

Manoa couple accused of extortion

Associated Press

A Manoa couple faces a preliminary hearing in federal court this month for allegedly extorting $150,000 from a son of the late Toru Kumon, the founder of Kumon tutorial centers.

Sean Yonehiro and Debra Tajiri are accused of threatening to release compromising photos of Hiroshi Kumon if he didn't pay, according to a federal complaint.

Tajiri, who is licensed to operate two Kumon centers on O'ahu, told Hiroshi Kumon that he ruined her life after they had an affair in 1996 and began requesting money over a 21-month period beginning in March 2002, according to the complaint.

The couple is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in U.S. District Court on Sept. 27 on a charge of sending international extortion communications. The offense is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The pair was arrested Feb. 17 after Yonehiro met with an FBI agent posing as Kumon's attorney. Yonehiro, who worked at Tajiri's center as an assistant, allegedly took a bag from the agent containing what he believed to be $150,000.

At the time of the affair, Hiroshi Kumon was director of the international division of the Kumon Institute of Education in Japan, the parent company of Kumon North America. He is no longer affiliated with Kumon.

Attorneys for Tajiri and Yonehiro declined comment about the case, as did federal prosecutors.