Conmen lure auditor with loan offer, cheat him of 13L

Three men duped a chartered accountant of Rs 13.75 lakh on the pretext of lending him Rs 1 crore at a star hotel on MG Road.

Ramaswamy D (45), a tax consultant from Coimbatore, filed a complaint with the Halasuru police, alleging he was cheated by three people, identified as Nikesh, Vinod and Sanjay. The police said Ramaswamy wanted to develop his tax consultancy office and was seeking a loan of
Rs 3 crore. The suspects got in touch with him, claiming they ran finance firms in Bengaluru and offered him a loan.

Ramaswamy was asked to come for lunch to the Oberoi Hotel on June 26. The trio asked him about his office development plan and offered a loan of Rs 1 crore.

One of the three then took him to the hotel’s parking lot to show him the money kept in a bag inside a Mercedes-Benz. Impressed with the money, Ramaswamy signed a bond of the loan commission for Rs 13.75 lakh. The money was given to the conmen, who one after the other left the hotel, leaving Ramaswamy alone at the lunch table.

Ramaswamy called the trio but their phones were switched off, after which he headed to the Halasuru police station. The police have booked the trio for cheating and criminal breach of trust and are hunting for them.