MADURAI: A 29-year-old man from Theni city lost Rs 88 lakh to cyber fraudsters, who lured him to invest in cryptocurrency. The cybercrime police arrested four accused in this connection and remanded them to custody on Saturday.
The accused were arrested as R Yuvaraj (33), S Padmanaban (32), S Siva (30) and C Nandagopal (30) on charges of cheating a businessman of Rs 88 lakh. The police seized Rs 3.9 lakh, six mobile phones, 29 debit cards, 18 cheque books and 46 SIM cards from the accused.
A police source said the 29-year-old businessman from Theni owns a cotton mill in the district. He was in search of an alliance for marriage and had registered on several matrimonial apps.
In 2023, he received a profile match from a woman. He initiated a conversation with a woman, and they built a relationship after assurance of marriage. Later, she told him about the profits she made through crypto trading and persuaded the victim to invest as well. Initially apprehensive, the victim later invested Rs 88.58 lakh in several installments.
The businessman realised he had been cheated after the accused cut off all communication. He filed a complaint with cybercrime wing in Theni district in 2023. A case was registered and a special team arrested the accused. Reportedly, Nandagopal used two bank accounts of daily wagers to transfer the money to evade detection.