VADODARA: A farmer staying in Manjalpur has filed a case of cheating against a man at cybercrime police station after being duped under the pretext of investing in cryptocurrency. Shaktsinh Raol told the police that the accused identified as Hiren Patel duped him of Rs 22.50 lakh.
According to the complaint, Raol and Patel were friends and part of the same group for the past 20 years. In 2016, Patel discussed investment schemes in cryptocurrency with Raol and the other friends. The accused introduced all the friends to Prashant Brahmbhatt claiming that he was a big businessman.
Both Patel and Brahmbhatt then asked the group of friends, including Raol, to invest in cryptocurrency and get three-fold returns within two years. Brahmbhatt said that it would be a legally earned profit and the investors would get to travel abroad too. Raol got convinced and invested Rs 7.5 lakh in a cryptocurrency scheme.
In January 2017, Patel again approached Raol and convinced him to invest in another firm to earn 13 per cent interest. Raol invested another Rs 7.50 lakh in the firm but didn’t get any returns for two months. He enquired with Patel who asked him to wait for a few months. But when Raol didn’t get any returns, he demanded a refund from Patel.
Patel gave him a refund of Rs 11.40 lakh, including the interest income. However, the accused again convinced Raol to invest in another firm to earn 15 per cent monthly interest, following which Raol invested Rs 7.50 lakh.
Later, in December 2017, Raol invested Rs 7.50 lakh in one more firm with a promised return of 28 per cent on the insistence of Patel.
But the complainant learnt some months ago that cryptocurrency is illegal in the country and those running investment schemes may face legal action. Raol approached Patel and demanded his money back but the latter kept dilly-dallying. When Raol told Patel that he will file a police complaint, the latter allegedly got angry and threatened him. Patel then filed a special criminal application in HC that issued an order to file a police complaint in the case.
