**Senior Citizen Lawyer Duped of ₹1.80 Crore by Fraudsters Posing as CBI Officers in Pimpri-Chinchwad**
In a disturbing case of online fraud, a senior citizen lawyer from Pimpri-Chinchwad was cheated out of ₹1.80 crore by imposters pretending to be officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The incident, which took place in Udyam Nagar, Pimpri, was reported to the Cyber Police Station on Wednesday.
Ganpat Balaji Kakade, a 73-year-old resident of Udyam Nagar, fell victim to the scam between September 4 and September 19. The fraudsters reportedly used Kakade’s Aadhaar card details and falsely claimed that money laundering activities were being conducted using his name. They threatened him with arrest in a fabricated money laundering case to intimidate him.
Fearing legal repercussions, the lawyer transferred a total of ₹1,80,37,000 to various bank accounts controlled by the suspects. The accused included individuals holding three different mobile numbers and four separate bank accounts.
According to police sources, the fraudsters not only threatened Ganpat Kakade but also warned him that his wife would be arrested if he failed to comply. They further cautioned the couple against discussing the matter with anyone, threatening that those people could be arrested as well. To gain the lawyer’s trust, the scammers went to the extent of sending fake PDF documents bearing the names of senior police officers.
A police official stated, “The suspects forced the lawyer to transfer funds into different bank accounts, assuring him that the money would be returned once a verification process was completed. However, the lawyer never received any refund.” Upon realizing that he had been duped, Kakade lodged a complaint with the authorities, and a formal investigation is currently underway.
This incident serves as a reminder to remain vigilant against such sophisticated scams and verify the authenticity of calls or messages claiming official authority.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/pimpri-chinchwad-crime-lawyer-defrauded-of-180-crore-by-cyber-impersonators-posing-as-cbi-officers