In a major blow to an international cyber-fraud operation, Vejalpur police on Friday arrested four local men accused of orchestrating a scheme that duped American citizens by posing as legitimate loan providers.
The suspects — Jasim Malvaniya, Golam Ghanchi, Shoaib Qureshi and Kaivan Ghanchi — all hail from Vejalpur.
According to police, Kaivan Ghanchi is believed to be the key figure behind the scam. Police noted that Malvaniya has a prior record for running a bogus call centre that impersonated U.S. law-enforcement agencies to deceive victims.
Inspector R. M. Chauhan told reporters that efforts are on to trace three more individuals named in the complaint. During the arrests, officers recovered a mobile phone from Ghanchi that allegedly contained crucial evidence, including operational data, chat histories, financial transaction details and WhatsApp groups used to coordinate the scheme.
The case was filed after a tip-off revealed a loan-processing fee scam that had reportedly victimized several U.S. residents. Police said the accused tricked people into purchasing high-value gift cards and sharing the codes via WhatsApp. These gift cards were then either sold to vendors or converted into cryptocurrency.
The four men have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, including extortion (Section 384), cheating and impersonation (Sections 419/420), and criminal conspiracy (Section 34).
Police have launched a deeper probe to map the entire network and identify any additional accomplices involved in the operation.
Also Read: Juhapura Man Arrested for Scamming Americans https://www.vibesofindia.com/juhapura-man-arrested-for-scamming-americans/
