Maharashtra Man Held for ₹4.74 Crore Online Investment Scam Targeting Goa Senior Citizen

Panaji, November 8: Goa’s Cyber Crime Police have arrested a man from Maharashtra for allegedly cheating a senior citizen from Panaji of ₹4.74 crore through a fake online investment scheme that impersonated a reputed financial company.

The accused, Avishkar Devidas Suradkar, a resident of Gayranwadi, Mandura in Jalna district, Maharashtra, posed as a representative of a bogus entity named “PTM-QIB”, designed to mimic Paytm Money. Police said he lured the victim through WhatsApp messages and a YouTube channel, promising attractive returns from a non-existent IPO scheme.

Believing the offer to be genuine, the complainant transferred ₹4.74 crore, thinking shares had been allotted in their name.

The case, registered under Crime No. 35/2025 on September 24, 2025, invokes Sections 318(4), 319(2) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 66-D of the IT Act, which deal with cheating and impersonation using computer resources.

A team led by PSI Sherwin Da’Costa, HC Viraj Narvekar, and PC Virendra Wadkar, under the supervision of SP Rahul Gupta (IPS), ASP B.V. Shridevi (IPS), and PI Deepak Pednekar, tracked down the accused in Jalna after an extensive technical and financial probe.

Investigations revealed that Suradkar had initially received ₹80 lakh in his bank account before transferring the money to several other accounts. Police said the same account is linked to eight other cyber fraud cases across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, and Goa, involving a total of ₹13.10 crore.

Another suspect, Mrs. Malathi B.N from Bengaluru, was also identified during the probe. She allegedly received ₹30 lakh in her account and routed it to other linked accounts. Police have issued her a notice under Sections 35(3) to 35(6) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), directing her to cooperate with the investigation.

Suradkar has been remanded to police custody as further investigations continue under the supervision of PI Deepak Pednekar.

Goa Police have urged citizens to verify any investment offers received through social media or messaging platforms and to avoid transferring money to unverified accounts.