Archive · 12 Aug 2026
Pune digital arrest scam: Rs 10.7 crore siphoned via 5,436 accounts
A scammer called an 82-year-old man in Pune and pretended to be a government officer.
They told him his phone number was linked to a crime, and then acted like police and even a judge in a fake online court.
The old man believed them and was scared, so he sent them all his savings — about Rs 10.7 crore.
The scammers hid the money by moving it through more than 5,000 different bank accounts all over India.
Then they changed the money into a special internet money called cryptocurrency so it was harder to find.
Police arrested a young man named Rohan who helped move the money, and he is the fifth person caught.
The police have managed to stop and save about Rs 1.34 crore of the stolen money so far.
They are still trying to find the people who planned the scam, who may be in other countries.
The old man told his daughter what happened, and she realized it was a trick and called the police.
An 82-year-old retired businessman from Pune was defrauded of Rs 10.74 crore in a 'digital arrest' scam between January 23 and 31.
The money was routed through 5,436 mule bank accounts across over a dozen states before being converted into Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency and cash.
Rohan Rameshwar Jadhav (26), a social media influencer, was arrested on August 7 as the fifth cyber criminal in the case.
Fraudsters posed as officials from TRAI, the CBI, and the judiciary, including a fake online court hearing with a robed impersonator as judge.
Police have so far frozen Rs 1.34 crore of the fraud money and are probing international operators controlling the network from abroad.
Previous arrests included Harshad Subhash Dhantole, Samarth Suresh Deshmukh, Amar Attargi, and Pranav Karansingh Arya.
- Who
- An 82-year-old retired businessman from Pune, his family, and suspects including Rohan Rameshwar Jadhav (26), Harshad Subhash Dhantole (26), Samarth Suresh Deshmukh (24), Amar Attargi (24), and Pranav Karansingh Arya (31).
- What
- A layered cyber fraud in which the victim was digitally arrested by impersonators and pressured into transferring Rs 10.74 crore, which was routed through 5,436 bank accounts and converted into cryptocurrency.
- When
- The fraud occurred between January 23 and 31; Jadhav was arrested on August 7.
- Where
- Pune, Maharashtra, with funds moved through banks in over a dozen Indian states and ultimately to wallets controlled abroad.
- Why
- The victim was told his mobile number was linked to a criminal case and was threatened with prosecution to force him to transfer money for 'verification.'
- Fraud Amount
- Rs 10.74 crore
- Victim
- 82-year-old retired businessman from Pune, former owner of a food processing machinery assembly unit
- Mule Accounts Used
- 5,436 bank accounts across over a dozen states
- Fraud Period
- January 23 to 31
- Crypto Used
- Tether (USDT)
- Amount Frozen
- Rs 1.34 crore
- Arrests in Case
- Five, including Rohan Jadhav on August 7
- Agencies Impersonated
- TRAI, CBI, and judiciary