Exclusive| Dating app scam: Kingpin tells Mumbai Police, ‘Made Rs 20 Lakh/day for clubs’

Ankur Meena (black shirt), the alleged mastermind behind the dating app scam, in the custody of the authorities

Ankur Meena, alias Happy, also known as "Meena Defaulter," the alleged mastermind behind a massive dating app scam in India, has revealed shocking details during police interrogation. Meena claimed that he would generate up to Rs 20 lakh in business for clubs in a single day. Recently arrested by Bangur Nagar police, Meena confessed that club members were fully aware of the fraudulent activities, motivated by the desire to increase their profits. According to Meena, he personally trained the girls working for the dating app. Every 10 to 15 days, a new group of girls, many of whom had previously worked in Delhi and other states, would arrive in Mumbai to familiarise themselves with the job.

Meena claimed that club members were fully aware of the fraudulent activities

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Meena would then instruct them on how to interact with customers, focusing on behaviours that would please clients and encourage large spending. While new recruits followed Meena's guidance closely, more experienced girls often disregarded it and worked independently to maximise their commissions by engaging with more customers. Meena also played a key role in identifying clubs, negotiating with their owners, and devising business strategies, while the day-to-day operations were handled by his team members.

However, Meena claimed that some members of his team, driven by greed, engaged in scams on their own, creating fake bills to inflate commissions. He denied knowledge of these fraudulent activities, asserting that he paid everyone in his team equally. Despite this, some boys and girls continued scamming customers by colluding with club owners.

Ankur Meena, the alleged mastermind behind the dating app scam

Following the expose of the dating app racket in Mumbai, Meena shut down the operations and instructed his team members to leave the city. While most complied, a few stayed behind and continued scamming by partnering with various clubs. Six of these individuals were recently arrested by Bangur Nagar police, according to an officer involved in the investigation.

Meena, who was in police custody until October 16, was remanded in judicial custody. Amboli police have now taken him into custody for his involvement in a case related to the Godfather Club. Meena was produced before the Bandra holiday court and remanded in three days of police custody, an officer from Amboli police station confirmed.