Cyber Crime Police, Cyberabad busted an Inter-state Cyber Fraudster Gang of 4 members

Cyber Crime Police nabbed a gang of cyber fraudsters targeting innocent persons in the name of online trading by using Market Box trading application. Fraudsters cheated the complainant to the tune of Rs. 27,90,000/-.

A case was registered in Cr. No.521/2021 u/s 419 & 420 IPC and Sec 66C & 66D of IT Act based on a complaint where the complainant had started online trading on ‘Market Box’ trading application and initially he invested approximately Rs. 9,999/- and lost whole amount. Then he again deposited 10 lakh rupees, traded and received Rs.14.9 lakhs. Similarly, he continued trading and invested around Rs.62.6 lakhs and received Rs.34.7 lakhs. In this process, he lost Rs.27,90,000 realizing it to be fraud and approached police.

Details of the accused:

A1. Abhishek Jain S/o Praveen Kumar Jain Age:32 years, Occ: Commodity Trader R/o Kailashpuri, behind Shivmandir, Mughalsarai, Chandauli dist., UP – main accused operating Market Box trading app.

A2. Pawan Kumar Prajapat, S/o Ashok Kumar Prajapat, Age:35 Yrs, Occ: Fintech Business, r/o: Technocrate society, Burhani Apartment 3rd Floor House No:6, Bargaon Road, Udaipur, Rajasthan State – provided bank accounts.

A3. Akash Roy, S/o Anand Roy, Age:39 Yrs, Occ: Fintech Business, r/o: Meera Nagar, Rajasthan Housing Board Colony, Bhuwana Udaipur, Rajasthan State – provided bank accounts

A4. Krishna Kumar, S/o Surahu Ram Age:38 Yrs, r/o.  Alampur, Mughalsarai, Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh – accomplice of A1 and collects money from hawala traders.

Role of the accused:

A1. Abhishek Jain: He is the mastermind behind the offence. He is into trading in Commodities and Futures & Options for more than 8 years. He lost money in trading and hatched a plan to collect the money from gullible traders through fraudulent trading application.

A2. Pawan Kumar Prajapat: He provided bank accounts and Merchant Pool Accounts on the name of Shree Krishna Enterprises and A2Z Digital Payment Pvt. Ltd., opened in Udaipur to A1 at 10% commission for receiving funds from traders.

A3. Akash Roy: Business partner of A2, from Udaipur; is actively involved in transferring funds to bank accounts of merchants from Varanasi and nearby areas, for conversion into cash to be picked-up by A3.

A4. Sri Krishna Kumar: From Mughalsarai, he is involved in collection of cash for a commission from merchants in Mughalsarai and Varanasi, on the directions of A1.

Modus Operandi:

A1 got developed trading application: ‘Market Box/MB’ www.marketbox.in, promoted it on various WhatsApp and Telegram groups. This application is similar to Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) but is not registered with SEBI. There are about 3000 traders registered on this fake app. A1 lured the customers through promoting and advertising his trading app on various chat groups on different platforms.

For receiving investments from victims, he shared Merchant Pool Account (MPA) of A3. Pawan Kumar Prajapat maintained by a Jodhpur based Fintech company. This MPA is linked to market box through API (Application Programming Interface) of Market Box. He also shared regular bank accounts of A2 & A3’s associates from Rajasthan and Kolkata.

After an investment or pay-in from victim, it is reflected against his balance on Market Box ID using which victim trades. The investments received from victims are diverted though multiple accounts. A4 has been receiving cash for about two years from merchants in Varanasi and nearby areas. A2 & A3 receive commission of 10 percent from the investments received by A1.

A2 & A3 were arrested from Jodhpur and recovered mobile phones containing evidence. Based on their confession, A1 & A4 were arrested from Mughalsarai town of Chandauli district of UP state and seized Rs 9.8 crores cash from the office of A1.

Property Seized:

1. Cash of Rs. 9 Crores 81 Lakhs
2. Mobile phones: (07)
3. Laptop/tabs: (02)

Appreciation:

The good work done by Cyberabad Cyber crimes Police will be rewarded suitably.

Advisory:

Citizens are advised to verify about genuineness and legal registration of trading platforms before investin                                                                                                     SD/-

Commissioner of Police,

Cyberabad.