A company that accepted $164,500, promising to send 35 people to Japan for studies is now the target of a complaint by its would-be clients, who say the company has failed to deliver.

The locals, who hail from two villages in Kampong Cham’s Chamkar Leu district, are demanding the return of their money in a complaint filed to the Ministry of Interior and the International Labour Organization, said deputy district police chief You Phirun.

Uth Thom, one of the allegedly swindled villagers, said three Cambodians came to advertise the Cambodia-Japan Care Training Center (CJCTC), in November.

They offered two fee tiers: $270, which could not guarantee a trip to Japan, and $8,000, which could. Chom said he became one of the 35 people to pay $4,000 up front, plus $700 more to process his documents.

After three months, he still didn’t get his trip. When he asked for his money back, he was told there were no refunds.

The school could not be reached directly yesterday. One of the three CJCTC representatives, for whom the Post was able to obtain a phone number but not a name, denied she took cash from the participants.