Ahmedabad businessman loses ₹17 lakh in Webull–branded crypto scam

A 53-year-old businessman from Satellite was allegedly duped of ₹17 lakh in a sophisticated crypto-investment scam run through a fake website impersonating the global trading platform Webull. The Cyber Crime Police Station has registered an FIR for cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy after the victim discovered that the platform was fraudulent and his investment could not be withdrawn.

According to the FIR, the complainant, Mahendrabhai Brijlal Chandwani, who runs a clothing shop at Judges Bungalow Road, first came across the purported trading platform in July 2024 after a friend recommended Webull as a “reliable crypto exchange”. While searching online, he found a site named webullvip1.pro and a US-based mobile number displayed on it. A WhatsApp conversation followed, during which he was told that his trading account would be handled by a Webull ‘advisor’ identified as Lakshmi Gupta.

Police said the accused generated a user ID for the complainant and guided him to log in using his Gmail credentials. Gupta allegedly convinced him to invest in USDT (Tether) with assurances of high returns. Between August 27 and October 14, 2024, the complainant transferred a total of ₹17 lakh to multiple bank accounts linked to Federal Bank, Bandhan Bank and UCO Bank. Each transaction, police said, was made on Gupta’s instructions.

The FIR states that the complainant’s online wallet balance on the fake portal showed 81,958.20 USDT, including claimed profits. However, when he attempted to withdraw funds, he was told to pay an additional ₹12 lakh towards “20% VAT” a common tactic in crypto-fraud schemes.

After refusing to pay further and demanding a refund, the complainant realised that the alleged advisors had blocked communication. None of his deposited funds were returned. He then contacted the national cyber helpline 1930, obtained an acknowledgment and later approached the Cyber Crime Police Station in Ahmedabad.

Investigators believe the fraudsters operated through coordinated mobile numbers and multiple mule bank accounts to siphon off funds. Police said the accused “jointly conspired to cheat the complainant under the guise of crypto investment” and that further enquiries would trace the beneficiaries of the bank accounts used in the fraud.

The Cyber Crime Police Station has registered offences of cheating, criminal breach of trust and conspiracy, and taken up the investigation.

Police have urged citizens to verify trading platforms through official sources and avoid investing through links shared over WhatsApp or search-engine advertisements, which are increasingly used to propagate crypto fraud.

(This story was taken from syndicated feed and was only edited for style by Gujarat Samachar Digital team)