Man arrested for cheating by seeking investment in Bitcoin, online schemes

A26-year-old man has been arrested from Worli area here for allegedly cheating a person of Rs 7 lakh after promising high returns on investment in Bitcoin and some online `task’ schemes, police said.

Riyazuddin Ahmed, the accused, was arrested on Friday and his two bank accounts with Rs 1.36 crore in them were frozen, said an official of Oshiwara police station.

As per Ismail Sheikh, the complainant, Ahmed approached him in July, telling him that Sheikh had won Rs 150 on an shopping app and would get the amount after clicking a link. Sheikh did so and Rs 150 were deposited in his account. Later, Ahmed asked him to invest Rs 5,000 in Bitcoin and paid him Rs 6,500, thus winning his trust, said senior inspector Mohan Patil.

But later he allegedly asked Sheikh to make bigger investments in online `task schemes’ — where a person is asked to perform simple online tasks like visiting a website or `liking’ a social media post/video and promised a reward. Sheikh deposited about Rs 7 lakh in two bank accounts as told, but did not get any money back and soon realised that he had been duped, the official said.

Police arrested Ahmed under relevant Indian Penal Code sections including 420 (cheating) and Information Technology Act and seized a laptop, two mobile phones, debit cards and a cheque book among other things from his possession.

More arrests are likely in the case, inspector Patil said.