The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Lakshya Vij, a 33-year-old man from Delhi, in connection with a 2023 cyber fraud involving a US woman.

He was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for defrauding a US citizen, Lisa Roth of over ₹3 crore (US $4,00,000).

This case of money laundering was initially registered by the CBI in July 2023. After his arrest, Vij was presented before a Delhi court and was sent under ED’s remand.

According to the CBI report, on July 4 last year, Vij hacked the laptop of Roth, sending her a phone number. When Roth called this number, the person on the other end identified himself as a Microsoft agent and spoke to her, convincing her to transfer $4,00,000 from her bank account to a cryptocurrency wallet.

As the US authorities received this complaint and noticed an Indian connection, they informed the Indian officials, leading to a CBI case.

According to reports, Vij was also previously arrested by Gujarat police last year. However, he was released later due to intervention by a senior officer with Delhi police.

Also read:

13 nabbed for sending illicit money to China in cryptocurrency