Hyderabad: Man poses as realtor, cheats investors of Rs 2.3 crore in crypto scam

A man posing as a real estate businessman allegedly cheated investors of nearly Rs 2.3 crore in Hyderabad by promoting a cryptocurrency scheme. Police said he lured victims with high returns and threatened them when confronted over non-payment.

Hyderabad: A man posing as a real estate businessman allegedly cheated multiple investors to the tune of nearly Rs 2.3 crore by pressuring them to invest in a cryptocurrency scheme.

According to police, the complainant, K Harikumar, a medical shop owner from Khammam who also deals in real estate plot marketing, was introduced to the suspect S Satish Rao in October 2023 . The suspect claimed to be the owner of Janajyothi Real Estate with its office in Tarnaka.

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Satish Rao allegedly promoted a blockchain scheme assuring high returns and convincing Harikumar to invest. “Believing his claims, Harikumar invested about Rs 55 lakh in various schemes,” police said.

The suspect allegedly collected over Rs 1.78 crore from other victims, taking the total to around Rs 2.3 crore.

When returns failed to materialize, the victims confronted him at his Tarnaka office, where he allegedly threatened them.

Harikumar subsequently filed a complaint with the Hyderabad CCS police on behalf of all victims. Following which, a case was booked and being investigated.