Navi Mumbai Fraud: 82-Year-Old Kharghar Man Duped Of ₹45 Lakh In Coin Exchange And Fake Lottery Scam; Case Registered

Navi Mumbai: An 82-year-old man from Sector 20, Kharghar, has filed a complaint with the Kharghar police after falling victim to two separate scams, resulting in a loss of Rs 45 lakh. The scams, which took place between November 2023 and February 2025, involved fraudulent promises of exchanging old currency notes and winning a fake lottery.

The first scam occurred between November 9, 2023, and January 29, 2024, when the elderly man was lured into exchanging his collection of old coins and Rs 5 denomination notes for hefty returns. The fraudsters promised him Rs 2.98 crore in exchange, but instead, Rs 8.70 lakh was illegally siphoned off from his bank account.

In the second scam, the victim was tricked into believing that he had won a substantial lottery prize. Between November 21, 2024, and February 6, 2025, the accused claimed that the lottery processing fees amounted to Rs 37 lakh, which the complainant paid. However, no lottery winnings were received, and the money was never refunded.

Senior Inspector Dipak Surve of Kharghar police mentioned that due to the victim's ailing health, there was a delay in registering the case. The complaint was filed on June 17 through the NCRB portal. "A total of 11 individuals are named as suspects in the scam," the officer stated. The police are continuing to investigate the matter further.