Two held for duping 4,000 men over fake sex work gigs

To pass off their multiple websites and job offers as authentic, the alleged fraudsters would promise to provide massage kits, and arrange hotels and security for the aspiring gigolos

Delhi Police have arrested two men who cheated more than 4,000 men over a period of five years by promising them well paying jobs as male prostitutes, officers aware of the matter said on Wednesday.

The police are trying to ascertain how many people complained against the gang.

The officers identified the accused as Kuldeep Singh Charan (29) and Shyam Lal Yogi (33). According to police, the two would charge their victims ₹2,500 as “registration fees” and would promise to provide massage kits, and arrange hotels and security for the aspiring male sex workers – all for a fee.

“The victims were told they could earn ₹10,000-50,000 for a few hours of service. They would demand an advance commission of 40%,” deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Devesh Kumar Mahla said.

“Yogi, one of the suspects, even pretended to be an NRI woman, by training himself to speak with a British accent in a woman’s voice, in a bid to convince the victims that they would find clients in abundance,” the DCP said.

While police are yet to ascertain how many people complained against this particular gang, the cybercrime team got involved in tracking the gang in December last year after a 23-year-old man from Narela filed a complaint about being duped of ₹39,190 after coming across a website advertising jobs for prospective sex workers, officers said.

According to the DCP, after the man paid the “registration” fees, he was provided an “identity card” on WhatsApp. Soon afterwards, Yogi called him on the phone, posing as an NRI woman seeking his services, police said. Over the next couple of days, the man lost ₹39,190 till finally, he was unable to contact the fraudsters, police said.

After receiving the complaint, police took the help of server space details, phone call records and locations and local information to zero down on Charan, who was a housekeeping attendant at various Jaipur hotels until he allegedly took to this fraud. At his instance, his associate Yogi was also arrested.

The DCP said police have recovered 11 bank accounts, 18 SIM cards and 21 ATM cards allegedly used in the crime. “We have found transactions of ₹47 lakh in these accounts so far, but the money they have made runs into crores,” Mahla said.