A business relationship struck up over a routine train journey has cost a Nagpur trader ₹27 lakh, in a case that traces the now-familiar arc of cryptocurrency investment fraud, from an unremarkable first meeting to a slow, convincing con built entirely on fabricated profits. The city’s Cyber Cell has registered a case against two accused after the trader, who runs a battery shop in Dhantoli, discovered that months of promised returns on his crypto investment were entirely fictitious. What finally exposed the fraud was an unusual demand that even seasoned investors would recognise as a red flag, a request to pay tax before his own money could be released.
A Friendship Formed in Transit, Then Turned Into a Pitch
According to police, the complainant, Sanjay Jethwa, first crossed paths with one of the accused, Mahavir Sharma, during a train journey. The two grew acquainted over the course of the trip, and Sharma later introduced him to an associate, Suraj Gupta. Both men claimed to be involved in cryptocurrency investments and told Jethwa they could double his money within a short period.
What followed was a methodical build-up of trust rather than a single high-pressure pitch. Investigators say the accused portrayed the investment as safe and highly profitable, gradually persuading Jethwa to commit larger sums as his confidence grew. Between August 18, 2025 and February 2, 2026, he transferred a total of ₹27 lakh through bank transfers and UPI payments into accounts allegedly linked to the two men, with the accused continuing to claim throughout this period that the investment was generating substantial profits.
Fabricated Paperwork and the Tax Demand That Broke the Illusion
To sustain the deception, police allege the accused supplied Jethwa with fabricated investment statements and fake profit reports designed to show his money steadily growing, records that reportedly encouraged him to keep investing further rather than question the arrangement. This is a familiar mechanic in cryptocurrency investment fraud, where victims are shown an illusion of accumulating wealth on a dashboard or in a report that has no connection to any real asset or trade.
The scheme unravelled only when the accused sent what appeared to be a formal investment agreement, later found to be fake, along with a demand for an additional ten percent tax amounting to ₹3.90 lakh, which they claimed was necessary to release his returns. That demand proved to be the turning point. Verification of the documents and the underlying investment claims confirmed to Jethwa that the entire arrangement had been fabricated from the outset.
A Pattern Repeating Across Indian Cities
The Nagpur case fits a pattern that has become strikingly common across Indian cities over the past year, where investment fraud frequently begins through a personal connection, whether a matrimonial app match, a social media contact or, as here, a chance encounter, before escalating into demands for a spurious “tax” or “commission” once a victim tries to withdraw funds. That specific tactic, holding withdrawals hostage behind a fabricated fee, has become one of the clearest tells that a platform or arrangement is fraudulent rather than genuinely delayed. India’s National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal recorded over 24 lakh complaints and losses exceeding ₹22,495 crore in 2025 alone, underscoring how widespread such schemes have become nationally.
Police are now examining bank accounts, digital transactions and the broader money trail in an effort to trace the siphoned funds and identify everyone connected to the alleged racket, though recovery in such cases often proves difficult once funds are converted into cryptocurrency and moved across accounts or borders.
Cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said most cryptocurrency investment scams rely on social engineering and exploit people’s desire for quick profits, cautioning that any promise of unusually high or guaranteed returns within a short period should be treated as a major warning sign. He advised investors to independently verify any investment platform or proposal rather than relying on personal introductions or verbal assurances, and urged particular caution around any demand for additional taxes or processing charges before funds can be withdrawn.
