Ahmedabad man seeking 2nd marriage duped by 'Canadian woman', loses Rs 1 crore
A woman he met on a Gujarati matrimonial website allegedly drew an Ahmedabad exporter into a fake pharma supply deal. The complaint says he transferred Rs 1.10 crore before she vanished and police opened a cyber fraud case.
A 51-year-old Ahmedabad man looking for a second marriage lost Rs 1.10 crore in a cyber fraud after a woman posing as a Canadian chartered accountant befriended him through a Gujarati matrimonial website and later lured him into a pharmaceutical raw-material business, police said.
The man, a machinery exporter, had created a profile on a Gujarati matrimonial site around eight months ago following the death of his wife.
He subsequently came in contact with a woman who claimed to be originally from Delhi and working as a chartered accountant at Nova Medical Labs in Toronto.
According to the complaint, the woman expressed an interest in marrying him and gradually gained his trust.
She then told him that her Canadian company had a large demand for a pharmaceutical raw material called Nadala B Root and that he could make substantial profits by supplying it.
She introduced him to a man named Mehrab, who was presented as being associated with Bharti Pharma and as a supplier of the raw material in India.
The businessman was initially persuaded to purchase samples worth Rs 2.50 lakh and sell them to the Canadian company for Rs 4.50 lakh, according to the complaint.
After the purported transaction promised a significant profit, the accused convinced him to invest a much larger amount, citing the prospect of a major order from the Canadian company.
Trusting the woman and her associates, the businessman arranged Rs 1.10 crore from friends and acquaintances and transferred the money in 24 transactions to four bank accounts provided by the accused.
However, after the money was transferred, the woman became unreachable, and her phone was switched off.
Realising that he had been duped, the businessman contacted the cybercrime helpline and lodged a complaint.
The Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch has registered a case against Smita Shetty, Mehrab, Fred Brandon and other unidentified persons on charges related to cheating and cyber fraud.
Investigators are examining the bank accounts into which the money was transferred, along with IP addresses, phone numbers and other digital evidence, to trace the accused.