Senior citizen sells flats, breaks FDs for trading, gets duped of ₹9.94 crore

A retired lawyer in Mumbai lost ₹9.94 crore to cyber fraudsters posing as stockbrokers, lured by fake IPOs via a WhatsApp group.

Mumbai: A 65-year-old retired lawyer was duped of ₹9.94 crore by cyber fraudsters posing as the employees of a leading stockbroking firm, after being lured into investing in fake IPOs and mutual funds through a WhatsApp group.

Senior citizen sells flats, breaks FDs for trading, gets duped of ₹9.94 crore

The complainant, a Mulund resident who lives with his 61-year-old wife, had retired in 2021 as an administrative head from an Indian multinational company. His daughter is a doctor at a hospital in Kamothe, Navi Mumbai.

According to the Eastern Cyber Cell, the scam began on June 28, 2025, when the complainant received a WhatsApp call from a woman identifying herself as Suman Gupta, introducing herself as an administrator at a reputed stockbroking firm. She then shared a WhatsApp group link, which he joined. In the groups, the frauds shared stock market tips and investment opportunities. Seeing many people making huge profits, he expressed interest in investing through the firm.

Following this, the accused directed him to download an app named ‘A R Trade Mobi’, where he began investing. Encouraged by the profits displayed on the app, the lawyer invested heavily — selling his flats and liquidating fixed deposits to transfer funds into multiple accounts, as directed by the accused. Over time, he invested ₹9.94 crore, thinking he was trading in IPOs, shares and mutual funds, the police said.

“When he attempted to withdraw his apparent profits, the app blocked transactions. The fraudsters claimed he would need to pay additional processing and service fees before withdrawals could be processed. Having already exhausted his savings, he could not make further payments,” said a police officer.

Suspecting foul play, he then visited the Malad office of the stockbroking firm, where he discovered that no such employee or WhatsApp group existed. Realising that he had been duped, he complained to the Eastern Cyber Cell.

Subsequently, a case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act for cheating, criminal conspiracy, and impersonation.