Mumbai: 21-year-old tea vendor from Surat arrested in Rs 41 lakh cyber fraud case

Sachin Manojbhai Modanwa, the accused

A 21-year-old tea vendor from Surat has been arrested for allegedly acting as a conduit in a cyber fraud network, using his bank account to route stolen money. North Cyber Police said the accused, Sachin Manojbhai Modanwa, allowed fraudsters to use his account transfer funds.

Fraud trail

The case surfaced during a probe into a '41 lakh investment fraud targeting a 60-year-old Borivli West resident. Lured via social media with promises of high returns, he transferred money across multiple accounts. Investigation revealed '2 lakh was routed to Modanwa's account.

The victim was contacted on Facebook and later over WhatsApp by a woman posing as an investment advisor. Representation pic/istock

Arrest

Using KYC and transaction details, police tracked and arrested Modanwa in Surat. Investigations revealed that he runs a tea stall in the city and allegedly allowed cyber fraudsters to use his bank account in exchange for monetary benefits. He was produced before a court on April 3 and has been remanded to police custody.

Probe on

Police suspect a larger interstate racket using mule accounts. Efforts are on to trace the masterminds and recover the money.

Victim targeted

The victim was contacted on Facebook and later over WhatsApp by a woman posing as an investment advisor. He was added to a WhatsApp group named "S18-Value Growth Circle", where multiple fake users posted success stories to build trust. He was then convinced to download a fraudulent trading app and invest money over several weeks. When he later attempted to withdraw his funds, he was asked to pay an additional R83 lakh, raising suspicion. Realising the scam, he approached the cyber helpline and the police.