By wrongly offering 20%-30% monthly returns for trading in a new cryptocurrency, a 60-year-old fraudster duped $350,000 out of 45 victims.
The Indian authorities arrested a 60-year-old greeting builder for duping about 45 people to spend more than $350,000 in a fake cryptocurrency scheme. The accused carried out the procedure by means of a specified request and promised a double-digit monthly return.
Indian Crypto Fraudster Arrested
As reported by the Times of India, the local police apprehended Umesh Verma at the Indira Gandhi International Airport upon his arrival from Dubai.
Verma set up his own website and built a link to the “Pluto Exchange” app, which he used to promote and sell a new cryptocurrency named “Coin Zarus.”
The accused was working with his son, Bharat Verma, and others. They ran publicity ads claiming that the new coin offers guaranteed returns of 20 to 30 per cent per month on people’s deposits.
While this figure appears too good to be valid, Joint Commissioner (EOW) OP Mishra said that Verma and his partners managed to dupe at least 45 businessmen from Delhi. The police report suggested that the illegal transaction took around Rs 2.5 crore (approx. $350,000).
When the promised returns were submitted, Verma used dried-up and post-dated checks. After they were dishonoured, Verma began to change their home addresses to escape the victims and eventually fled to Dubai.
Commissioner Mishra said that Verma had already been arrested in December 2017 in a gold smuggling case. Aside from his illicit endeavors, he was a greeting cards maker by profession.
100 BTC Kidnapping Case in India
The world’s second most-populated nation is no a stranger to fraudulent activities involving cryptocurrencies. CryptoPotato recently reported the kidnapping of an eight-year-old boy from his family house in the southwest state of Karnataka.
The attackers had left a ransom note requesting 100 bitcoins, worth around $2.3 million at the time. Victim’s father and grandparents were allegedly local businessmen and cryptocurrency holders.
The early coverage suggested that the police had detained six people in connection with the investigation. They were all linked to the family of the deceased.
Later on, the local authorities arrested another suspect. The police noted that he was actually the one who abducted the kid in front of his home after being recruited by the mastermind of the entire operation.
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