Yuji Naka, Sonic Co-Creator, Found Guilty of Insider Trading

Yuji Naka was sentenced to two years and six months in prison with four years of probation. He was fined two million and 171 million yen.

SEGAbits, a website and social media account, translated a Yahoo Japan news story to explain Naka’s “4 years suspension” for showing “remorse”. He must pay 173 million yen (over 1 million USD) in fines and follow court rules to avoid jail time.

If you missed the previous updates, Naka and two other former Square Enix employees were accused of buying shares in developers “Aiming” and “Ateam” before Dragon Quest Tact and Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier were announced and selling them afterward.

According to Yahoo Japan, Tokyo’s District Court sentenced Naka for violating Japan’s “Financial Instruments and Exchange Act”. Taisuke Sazaki and Fumiaki Suzuki were arrested twice for insider trading.

Balan Wonderworld, Square Enix’s troubled game, was Naka’s last. He developed mobile games after falling out with the company, Sonic team members, and the blue blur’s co-creator Naoto Ohshima.