Hyderabad: Crime Branch busts fake visa racket

Hyderabad: The Cyber Crime cell of Andhra Pradesh Crime Branch has claimed to have busted a fake visa racket with the arrest of a person from Maharashtra.

The matter came to light when complainant Y Gopi approached the Cyber Crime cell in May this year after he realised he was duped to the sum of Rs 25,000 by the accused, who had promised him an employment in the United States, they said.

According to the complainant, he came in contact with the accused, identified as Rajeev P Soni, a resident of Ambernath in Thane district in Maharashtra, through a classified advertisement in a local newspaper here.

After initial conversation through email and phone, Gopi deposited Rs 25,000 in a bank account given by Soni, they said.

Later, he received an e-mail with "US Visa" printed on it, however, it contained incorrect date of birth, a police officer said.

Advertisement

Rajeev demanded Gopi to pay an additional Rs 27,000 after the latter asked him to make the necessary corrections.

"It was then the complainant grew suspicious and went to the US Consulate here and enquired about the genuineness of the visa. He was informed that it was a fake visa," a police officer said.

Advertisement

During the course of investigation, six fake bank accounts opened at PSU and private banks were identified here and the total transactions done as part of scam was about 45 lakh, the police officer said.

On credible information, a team of Cyber Crime sleuths arrested the accused Louis Lawrence Nyss alias Rajeev P Soni from Ambernath in Thane district yesterday and produced him before a local court here today which remanded him to judicial custody.

Advertisement

Rajeev Soni was also wanted by Chandigarh and Chennai Police in separate cases besides cyber crime cell, the police officer said.