Thane Man Who Gifted 2.5 Crore Audi To Girlfriend Arrested In $300 Million Scam

Thane: An alleged conman, who had gifted an Audi car worth Rs 2.5 crore to his girlfriend, has been arrested by the Thane police following his deportation from Dubai. Sagar Thakkar, also known as 'Shaggy', is accused of masterminding a call centre scam in which thousands of victims, mostly from South Asia, were extorted by callers pretending to be US tax officers threatening them with arrest and deportation of they did not remit money to the government.

According to the US Department of Homeland Security, Thakkar is said to have extorted nearly $300 million from the scam, which has been operational since 2013. A US attorney in Texas set charges against a total of 56 people and five Indian companies for conspiracy to commit identity theft,  impersonation of an officer of the US, wire fraud and money laundering.

The scam was unearthed when the police raided call centres at Mira Road in Thane district on October 4 last year. A lookout notice was subsequently issued against him on October 7, two days after he fled the country. Thakkar was picked up from Mumbai airport on Friday night by the police. The police had earlier arrested Jagdish Kanani, with whom Thakkar began working at the

The police said that 24-year-old Sagar Thakkar led an affluent life and was a regular figure in the Mumbai party circle. He was accompanied around by a battery of bouncers and bodyguards and was fond of high-end vehicles.

Investigators added that he had purchased an Audi R8 car, valued at Rs 2.5 crore, from cricketer Virat Kohli in May last year. However, Thane police chief Param Bir Singh said that Mr Kohli was an "innocent seller" who had no idea who he was dealing with. The luxury car was seized from Ahmedabad

Thakkar had supposedly purchased the car for his girlfriend as a birthday present.

(with inputs from Agencies)