Hogen Fu-kun-aga (60), a former leader of the Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo religious group has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after his conviction for fraud in a Kyodo, Japan court. Fu-kun-aga, whose real name is Teruyoshi Fu-kun-aga, purported to be able to diagnose & treat diseases by examining the soles of clients' feet and "listening to the voice of heaven."
Although Fu-kun-aga argued through his defense team that his actions were protected because they were expressions of his religious beliefs, prosecutors successfully argued to the court that he & his cohorts ran a financial scam that preyed on vulnerable people, persuading them to ruin themselves financially to support the readings, diagnoses, & treatments.
In addition to Fu-kun-aga, 14 other faith group members were indicted, 12 have been found guilty in district court, & 2 have appealed their convictions.
Total fines for restitution & prison sentences range in the millions of yen & multiple decades.
Presiding Judge Tsutomu Aoyagi commented, "It's artful and vicious to swindle such a large sum of money," adding that Fu-kun-aga "incited anxiety by telling [clients] shocking things." He concluded, that his acts were "nothing but fraud, & it went far beyond an acceptable level of freedom of religion."
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The Lord's Servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will give them a change of heart leading to a knowledge of the truth
II Timothy 2:24-26
