2 convicted of cyber fraud duping NRIs residing in Singapore, US, Ireland

The Special CBI Court here has sentenced two Indian nationals for orchestrating a scam duping several non-resident Indians (NRIs) in Singapore, the United States and Ireland by impersonating immigration officials. The victims were made to transfer Rs 8.5 lakh through 14 transactions.

The convicts — Aditya Bhardwaj, alias Bhanu; and Deepak Jain — were sentenced to simple imprisonment of two and a half years each by Special Judicial Magistrate Anil Kumar Yadav. Besides, Bhardwaj was fined Rs 5,000 and Jain, considered the more financially implicated party, Rs 20,000. Both have been granted bail until June 28 to appeal against the ruling.

The case was prosecuted by Jaswinder Kumar Bhatti, Senior Public Prosecutor for the CBI from Chandigarh. The accused were represented by advocate KP Singh (for Bhardwaj) and advocate K Kaushik (for Jain), who sought suspension of sentence pending appeal. The court granted temporary bail under the statutory provisions applicable to sentence under three years.

The two accused operated through a travel agency in Kurukshetra, Guru Kripa Tours and Travels, and fraudulently withdrew funds sent via Western Union. The victims were coerced into sending money under the pretext of avoiding arrest and deportation due to alleged discrepancies in immigration paperwork. The accused made calls pretending to be from Singapore or US immigration authorities, threatening legal action against the victims unless they paid hefty “settlement fees”.

The mastermind, Bhardwaj was found to have received money using fake IDs and forged documents. He often misused the details of unsuspecting citizens to collect funds at the money transfer outlets. His accomplice managed a web of fake bank accounts — allegedly using names of his housemaid and fictitious individuals — to funnel and siphon off the victims’ money for personal expenses, including hotel bookings, medical bills and family transfers.

One of the striking revelations during the investigation was the seizure of a 10-page script from Jain’s residence, believed to have been used by the scam callers to defraud US citizens. The script laid out instructions on impersonating federal agents and coercing victims into disclosing confidential banking details and making payments.

Fraudulent transactions ranging from Rs 37,000 to Rs 2 lakh were traced, with forensic handwriting analysis confirming Bhardwaj’s involvement in forging Western Union transaction forms.

Though the third accused, Harnek Singh, remains absconding — having left India for Dubai in 2013 — the court had earlier split the proceedings in his case. Evidence from the US narcotics authorities confirmed his presence in the United States.

This case, initially registered in 2016, culminated in a voluminous trial featuring 54 witnesses and forensic evidence, underscoring the extensive conspiracy and digital paper trail laid bare by the CBI.