Clearce pyramid in Japan: 25 billion yen in damages

Tokyo prosecutors investigate: Gigantic investment fraud through bogus server investments uncovered

The Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating the case of Clearce, a company that lured investors with the promise of a solid annual return of around 10,100 yen on server investments. In reality, it was a classic Ponzi scheme: new deposits financed the promised returns to existing investors, while no real value was created. Around 5,000 victims lost a total of approximately 25 billion yen.

What makes this case unique is the packaging concept: IT infrastructure – in this case, physical servers – enjoys a high level of trust in Japan as a tangible and reputable form of investment. The perpetrators deliberately exploited this trust by using language that sounded like technical credibility: computing capacity, cloud infrastructure, digital value creation. For the victims, the idea of investing in real hardware was psychologically compelling – a trap perfectly tailored to this target group.

Anatomy of a modern pyramid

1️⃣ Building trust

Presentation of real servers and seemingly verifiable infrastructure

2️⃣ Promise of returns

10% pa – plausible enough to circumvent skepticism

3️⃣ Pyramid growth

New deposits finance existing investors – no real return

4️⃣ Collapse

5,000 victims, 25 billion yen in damages, investigations