TOKYO (AP) He was convicted of fraud, jailed and humbled a bit, but former Japanese dot.com mogul Takafumi Horie was undaunted Thursday in blaming his fall from grace on a flawed legal system that unfairly crucifies the rich and famous.

In his first public comments about his case, Horie accused overly zealous prosecutors of targeting high-profile individuals even for relatively minor transgressions in order to generate the highest buzz factor. “If you become famous, you need to watch out because the public prosecutors may come after you,” Horie, who still maintains his innocence, said at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

“If you are not only famous but also make a lot of money, you need to be aware of the fact that there will be people around you who are going to be envious. They may eventually go to the public prosecutors office and give them information that will lead to your downfall.

” Horie, 36, was once celebrated as the face of Japan’s new generation of entrepreneurs, a defiant symbol challenging a corporate culture that values conformity and deference to the status quo. He gained fame as head of his Internet services startup Livedoor Co.

, tried to buy a professional baseball team and then take over a radio broadcaster. He even ran for a parliamentary seat.

Though unsuccessful, the efforts heightened Horie’s glamourous image, helping attract investors to Livedoor stock. The beginning of the end came on Jan.

17, 2006, when prosecutors raided Livedoor headquarters in Tokyo. The incident and Horie’s subsequent arrest sparked a frenzied market sell-off dubbed “Livedoor shock” that forced the Tokyo Stock Exchange to close early due to overwhelming trading volumes.

Horie spent 95 days in jail undergoing interrogation and was found guilty a little more than a year later for masterminding a network of decoy investment funds to manipulate earnings at Livedoor. His sentence? Two years and six months in prison unusually harsh for a white collar crime in Japan.

He is now out on bail, awaiting the Japanese Supreme Court’s decision on his appeal. In the meantime, he is jumping back into the spotlight, eager to repair his tarnished image, rattle Japanese society again, and promote his new book “Total Resistance.

” He said he wrote the book, some of it behind bars, to “help future executives and entrepreneurs navigate some of the unique idiosyncracies of doing business in Japan.” “I believe it’s my role to be provacative,” said Horie, whose outfit du jour featured a white skull on his back and some bling on the front.

His latest venture may be his boldest yet he wants to explore space, seeking to develop a mannned rocked engine within five years. “Many people have accused me of being someone who worships money,” he said.

“I’m not at all interested in saving money. I’m only interested in using money to invest in my dreams.

TOKYO (AP) He was convicted of fraud, jailed and humbled a bit, but former Japanese dot.com mogul Takafumi Horie was undaunted Thursday in blaming his fall from grace on a flawed legal system that unfairly crucifies the rich and famous.

In his first public comments about his case, Horie accused overly zealous prosecutors of targeting high-profile individuals even for relatively minor transgressions in order to generate the highest buzz factor. “If you become famous, you need to watch out because the public prosecutors may come after you,” Horie, who still maintains his innocence, said at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

“If you are not only famous but also make a lot of money, you need to be aware of the fact that there will be people around you who are going to be envious. They may eventually go to the public prosecutors office and give them information that will lead to your downfall.

” Horie, 36, was once celebrated as the face of Japan’s new generation of entrepreneurs, a defiant symbol challenging a corporate culture that values conformity and deference to the status quo. He gained fame as head of his Internet services startup Livedoor Co.

, tried to buy a professional baseball team and then take over a radio broadcaster. He even ran for a parliamentary seat.

Though unsuccessful, the efforts heightened Horie’s glamourous image, helping attract investors to Livedoor stock. The beginning of the end came on Jan.

17, 2006, when prosecutors raided Livedoor headquarters in Tokyo. The incident and Horie’s subsequent arrest sparked a frenzied market sell-off dubbed “Livedoor shock” that forced the Tokyo Stock Exchange to close early due to overwhelming trading volumes.

Horie spent 95 days in jail undergoing interrogation and was found guilty a little more than a year later for masterminding a network of decoy investment funds to manipulate earnings at Livedoor. His sentence? Two years and six months in prison unusually harsh for a white collar crime in Japan.

He is now out on bail, awaiting the Japanese Supreme Court’s decision on his appeal. In the meantime, he is jumping back into the spotlight, eager to repair his tarnished image, rattle Japanese society again, and promote his new book “Total Resistance.

” He said he wrote the book, some of it behind bars, to “help future executives and entrepreneurs navigate some of the unique idiosyncracies of doing business in Japan.” “I believe it’s my role to be provacative,” said Horie, whose outfit du jour featured a white skull on his back and some bling on the front.

His latest venture may be his boldest yet he wants to explore space, seeking to develop a mannned rocked engine within five years. “Many people have accused me of being someone who worships money,” he said.

“I’m not at all interested in saving money. I’m only interested in using money to invest in my dreams.