Yuji Naka, the co-creator of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, which is one of the most successful video game franchises ever, is facing a prison sentence of up to two years and six months for insider trading.
This news, originally published by the Japanese publication Abema Times, was first reported in English by VGC.
According to the report, government prosecutors requested a prison sentence of two and a half years for the iconic video game director during a hearing at the Tokyo District Court on Thursday. They further requested he pay a fine of ¥2.5 million, or $17,800, and a penalty of ¥170 million, or $1.21 million for his offense.
The prosecutors reportedly requested such a harsh penalty because Naka "showed no signs of remorse" for his actions. Naturally, Naka's defense team does not agree with the prosecutor's requests. In fact, they made two requests of their own, which is for the fine to be reduced and for the prison sentence to be suspended.
Naka's problems with the law began last November when he was arrested and charged with insider trading during his stint at Square Enix.
According to the prosecutors, Naka discovered that Japanese video game studio Aiming was developing a Dragon Quest mobile game before it was officially announced. Subsequently, he bought 10,000 shares of the company worth ¥2.8 million, or $20,000, with a plan to offload them once the game was announced and the company's stock value increased.