City couple loses ₹4L, gets ₹55L in fake notes as loan

City couple loses ₹4L, gets ₹55L in fake notes as loan

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

28.08.2020

A Chennai-based couple was duped of ₹4 lakh by a man from Avinashi near Tirupur, who had promised to arrange them a loan of ₹1 crore.

The man escaped with ₹4 lakh cash received from the couple as ‘documentation charges’ in exchange of arranging a tranche of the loan amount of ₹1 crore, which eventually turned out to be fake currency.

Police said Alwin Rai, a resident of Perumalpuram extension in Tambaram in Chennai, wanted to expand his truck transport business and was looking for a loan. His wife Jennifer was told by one of her friend, Kiruba, about an advertisement in a newspaper that promised financial assistance for business purposes.

Jennifer contacted the mobile number in the advertisement. The person who spoke to her gave her the contact number of one Acharya, and asked her to approach him for loan.

“As per the complaint, Acharya agreed to arrange a loan of ₹1 crore, but said the document charges would amount to ₹4 lakh, which needed to be paid upfront. He also asked Alwin Rai to come to Avinashi on August 26,’’ said a police officer. Acharya had told the couple that he would give ₹55 lakh in person and the remaining would be transferred online.

Accordingly, the couple reached Avinashi on Wednesday and met Acharya at a hotel near the national highway on the outskirts of the town. The couple gave ₹4 lakh cash to Acharya, who then handed them a briefcase which, he said, had ₹55 lakh cash, the first tranche of the loan.

After he left the place, the couple opened the briefcase and to their shock, found that the notes were fake.

It was then that the couple realised that it was a racket to dupe them of ₹4 lakh given as documentation charges. The police have booked a case and have launched a hunt for Acharya. Police suspect that there is a bigger gang operating the racket.

One of the fake currency notes given to the Chennai-based couple by the deceiver

Acharya agreed to arrange a loan of ₹1 crore, but said the document charges would amount to ₹4 lakh, which needed to be paid upfront. He also asked Alwin Rai to come to Avinashi on August 26, police said