Mumbai Crime: Mother-daughter duo held for cheating Borivli man of 1.3 crore

The accused got Rs 1.3 crore from the victim over the past six months by gaining sympathy, saying her husband, elder daughter and some other relatives died due to COVID

A  Mother-daughter duo was arrested by Mumbai Cyber Cell (North) for allegedly cheating a Borivli resident to the tune of Rs 1.3 crore. The accused had allegedly been extracting money from the victim by gaining sympathy, saying they needed money for treatment and funeral of family members due to COVID-19, said sources.

The victim, a 59-year-old, works in a multinational company and had met a 46-year-old through social media around six months ago and got close. After the accused found out that the complainant was working for a multinational company, she started telling him sad stories to gain sympathy. She said she needed money to arrange for the funeral of her husband who passed away due to COVID. She had also taken money from him for hospitalisation and death of her elder daughter and relatives.

The complainant said that around two months ago the accused’s 22-year-old daughter called him, saying her mother was severely ill and needed money for treatment. She later told him she needed money for the funeral.

The complainant had given around Rs 1.3 crore to the duo in this manner. However, when he asked her to return his money, he found out that social media profiles of both women were deleted. He then approached the cyber cell last month and registered a complaint.

Inspector Mangesh Desai and his team started a probe and tracked down both the accused to Bhiwandi and arrested them.

During interrogation, police found out the mother was behind the crime and the duo had cheated several people using the same modus operandi.

“We have recovered gold ornaments during the house search. We have also seized their bank account which has more than Rs 15 lakh,” said a police officer.

Both the mother-daughter were arrested under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code. They were produced before the court last week and have been remanded in police custody, said an officer.

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