Businessman loses 93L in crypto investment scam

Rajkot: A businessman from Amreli district was allegedly cheated of around Rs 93 lakh, in a USDT cryptocurrency investment scam, after responding to a WhatsApp message from an unknown number.Mahesh Bhayani (52) of Navania village in Babra taluka filed a complaint at Amreli Cybercrime police station against a woman identified as "Neha Sharma", who allegedly ran an investment website and the holders of several bank accounts and other unidentified persons.According to the complaint, Bhayani was first contacted on Sept 25, claiming a message had been sent by mistake. The woman sender later resumed contact and began communicating with him regularly.Bhayani said Sharma enquired about his business and claimed to own a fabric factory and showroom. She later started discussing the stock market and cryptocurrency trading, suggesting that trading through an online platform called "Kanakdham Exchange" would yield high returns. She advised him to begin with a small amount and increase his investment gradually after seeing the profits.He created an account using a registration link sent on WhatsApp and made an initial investment of Rs 51,000. Bhayani stated that Sharma shared trading tips through WhatsApp, which he followed.In Oct, Bhayani was shown as having made over Rs 7 lakh as returns on four transactions, which strengthened his confidence in the platform. When he tried to withdraw his principal and profits, he was told to pay various taxes and charges.To make deposits on the platform, Bhayani took a bank loan of Rs 25 lakh and a loan of Rs 17 lakh from a finance company. The rest of the funds had been transferred from the current account of his stone-crushing firm, Jay Khodiyar Enterprise.Police said that between Oct 11, 2025, and Jan 3, 2026, Bhayani transferred Rs 92.75 lakh to various bank accounts but did not get any money back. Realizing he had been cheated, he lodged a complaint.