Nagpur/Pune: Shakuntala Marotrao Gorlewar, a resident of Bhim Chowk in Jaripatka, Nagpur, has been swindled out of ₹57,000 in a cryptocurrency investment scam. The Jaripatka police have launched an investigation and filed a fraud case against four Pune-based suspects involved in the scam.
The scam unfolded when Gorlewar was deceived under the guise of cryptocurrency investment. The accused have been identified as Vinod Mate (35), Ganesh Ware (35), Ajitkumar Prasad (50), and Vishal Mali (40), all residing in Pune and employed by the cryptocurrency trading company ‘mSwift’.
According to the police, Shakuntala Gorlewar’s husband, Marotrao, who works in marketing, was introduced to Ajit Prasad, a cryptocurrency trader, through a mutual acquaintance. In September 2023, Prasad connected Marotrao with Vinod Mate, who promised to double the invested amount within a month.
Initially, Marotrao invested ₹10,000, and it appeared that $5,000 was credited to his account. Mate then instructed him to download an ID from a website called ‘Orbit Droid Force 1,’ linked to ‘mSwift,’ using his wife’s phone number.
Marotrao subsequently invested an additional ₹40,000 through various bank accounts and borrowed money to invest further. When he sought to retrieve his returns after a month, he was unable to reach Mate.
Realizing they had been duped, Shakuntala Gorlewar reported the fraud to the police, leading to the registration of a case and the commencement of an investigation.