Former Marathi film producer held for duping Delhi man of Rs 12.85 lakh

New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) A 25-year-old former Marathi film producer was apprehended from Maharashtra's Pune for allegedly duping a resident of Delhi of over Rs 12.85 lakh through a fake cryptocurrency investment scheme, an official on Saturday said.
     The accused, identified as Akshay Ashwin Kale, posed as a financial advisor and lured unsuspecting victims into investing in fake cryptocurrency schemes, he said.
     Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), West, Vichitra Veer, said that a complaint was received on May 20 at the Cyber Police Station in which a Delhi resident alleged that he was defrauded of Rs 12.85 lakh by a man posing as a crypto investment consultant.
     "The complainant was promised lucrative returns. He was contacted through social media and guided to invest money in what appeared to be a legitimate cryptocurrency trading platform. Trusting the process, the complainant deposited Rs 12.85 lakh in multiple tranches," he added.
     The DCP said that access was denied when the complainant attempted to withdraw his investment.
     Police traced the flow of funds during investigation and found that the money had been dispersed across 29 different bank accounts, said the officer, adding that a breakthrough came when one of the accounts was found actively withdrawing funds via ATMs in Pune.
     A team from Delhi Police conducted a raid in Pune and apprehended Kale.
     Further investigation revealed that Kale, who had previously worked as a producer in the Marathi film industry, suffered significant financial setbacks and subsequently turned to cybercrime for quick money.
     "He created a web of fake bank accounts and used cryptocurrency as a front to collect funds. He would then siphon off the money by converting it through multiple channels to avoid detection," the DCP said.
     Kale reportedly exploited his background as a financial advisor to build credibility among his targets. He targeted people with promises of high returns on crypto investments, only to disappear once funds were transferred, police said.
     Kale had earlier produced a few Marathi films before shutting down operations due to losses, they said.
     Further investigation is underway to identify other victims and associates involved in the racket, said police suspecting that more people may have fallen prey to this scheme.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)