Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka has been sentenced to 30 months in prison but will avoid it temporarily thanks to a four-year suspension of said sentence. Naka will also face an approximate $1.2 million fine for his insider trading charges.

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Naka, who initially directed Balan Wonderworld before being removed from the project last year, was first arrested back in November 2022 (via FNN Prime Online) due to his involvement in an insider trading scheme involving two former Square Enix employees. Thanks to information provided to Naka, the former Sonic Team head purchased stock in Aiming, a Japanese game developer that was about to announce an upcoming Dragon Quest game. He was also arrested a second time in December 2022 due to another insider trading incident involving information regarding Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. Last March, Naka pleaded guilty to the charges (via NHK), admitting that there was “no doubt” that he performed the insider trading activities he was charged for.

While a suspended prison sentence means he won’t be behind bars for now, his total fine of ¥173 million (approximately $1.2 million) will definitely serve as an alternative form of penalty.

Source: Jiji Press