Money Heist-Inspired Gang Scams 300 People of Rs 150 Crore Across India
A Delhi-based gang inspired by the Netflix series 'Money Heist' conned nearly 300 people across India of Rs 150 crore by promising high returns in the stock market. The trio—Arpit ('Professor'), Prabhat ('Amanda'), and Abbas ('Freddy')—used fake identities and social media groups to lure investors, initially giving small profits before blocking accounts and intimidating victims. The police arrested them and found their links to Chinese cyber fraudsters.
A fraud ring in Delhi modeled after Netflix’s ‘Money Heist’ defrauded approximately 300 individuals across India, stealing Rs 150 crore with promises of high returns on stock market investments. The accused, Arpit Mishra (a lawyer named ‘Professor’), Prabhat Vajpayee (a computer science postgraduate named ‘Amanda’), and Mohammad Abbas Khan (‘Freddy’), created multiple WhatsApp and social media groups to offer stock tips and lure victims. They gained trust by initially providing small profits but blocked accounts and intimidated investors who tried to cash out larger amounts, demanding further deposits. Police investigations revealed that the gang operated from luxury hotels in Noida and Siliguri using mobile devices and laptops. During raids, authorities recovered mobile phones, SIM cards, bank passbooks, debit cards, and incriminating chat logs. Additionally, the gang is suspected to have defrauded another Rs 23 crore through separate cyber frauds linked to a China-based network. The trio had direct contact with handlers in China and Cambodia who managed mule accounts to route stolen money, often converting it into cryptocurrency. The arrests of the three members are part of ongoing investigations into this large-scale cyber investment scam that exploited social media and online trading schemes to deceive people nationwide.
