A 66-year-old chemical trader from Kothrud, Pune, lost Rs 5.42 lakh in an alleged crypto trading scam after being promised daily profits from investments in USDT. The suspects directed him to a fake trading platform that displayed a growing balance, then demanded a commission to release the money. Alankar police registered a case after the trader complained that the suspects had stopped responding.
Crypto Trading Scam Began with Daily Profit Offer
The alleged fraud took place between January 29 and February 5, 2026. The trader approached Alankar police on Thursday, October 8, after failing to recover his money. Times News Network reported the case on October 9, citing the complaint and information from a police officer.
According to the complaint, the trader received a message from a person calling himself “Anish.” The sender claimed that his company offered daily profits through investments in Tether’s USDT stablecoin. He subsequently added the trader to an online group and shared a link presented as a cryptocurrency trading platform.
The offer led the man to transfer money from his wife’s and son’s bank accounts to buy USDT. Police said the suspects used the fake platform to show him that his investment had increased in value after he transferred the funds.
The complaint places the bank transfers within the investment arrangement promoted by the sender. The trader invested money after the promise of regular returns and access to the platform through the online group.
Rs. 24.66 Lakh Balance Followed by Commission Demand
The platform showed the trader that his investment had grown to Rs. 24.66 lakh, according to the police account. That amount was the balance presented to him by the suspects, while the financial loss recorded in his complaint was Rs. 5.42 lakh.
A police officer said, “The complainant initially transferred the money from his wife’s and son’s bank accounts to buy USDT and was shown his investment had grown to Rs. 24.66 lakh.”
However, when the trader sought access to the investment and returns, the suspects demanded a further payment. They asked him to pay Rs. 7.39 lakh as a “commission” before they would transfer the money.
The commission demand exceeded the amount he had already invested by Rs. 1.97 lakh. It also amounted to nearly 30% of the Rs. 24.66 lakh balance displayed on the platform. The suspects made this payment a condition for releasing the funds.
The trader could not pay the requested commission. Following that, the suspects stopped responding to him, prompting him to take the matter to the police. His complaint described the promised profits, the transfers from family bank accounts and the demand for more money before withdrawal.
Alankar Police Register Case Under Cheating Laws
Police registered a case under sections 318 and 319 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which cover cheating and cheating by personation. They also invoked relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act in connection with the alleged online fraud.
The case concerns the suspects’ use of messages, an online group and a fake trading platform to obtain money from the complainant. The daily-profit offer formed the initial approach, while the later commission demand came when the trader attempted to access the displayed investment and returns.
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