35-Year Friendship. One Fake Property Deal. A Friend Stole Rupees 88 Lakh. Here's How We Tracked the Fraudster and Recovered the Money.
About the Client
A 50-year-old retired government officer invested all his retirement savings in a property deal in Dharuhera that promised guaranteed returns — trusting his childhood friend who approached him.
What Was the Case
The friend told our client that he was developing a group housing project in Dharuhera and needed investors. He promised 30% returns within 18 months. Our client trusted him — they had known each other for 35 years — and transferred ₹88 lakh in three instalments.
For the first 6 months, the friend sent monthly "progress updates" with construction photos and timelines. Then the updates stopped. The friend’s phone was switched off. His office was shut. His family said they didn’t know where he was. When our client visited Dharuhera, he found that there was no project — the construction photos were from a completely different site.
Our client — a man who had served the country for 30 years had been cheated by his own childhood friend. He came to us with bank receipts, WhatsApp messages, and with tears.
How SPJ Advocates Handled It
Week 1-3 — FIR and Investigation
- Filed an FIR under Section 420 (cheating) and Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Gurgaon
- Submitted a detailed complaint with bank transfer receipts, WhatsApp messages containing the investment promise and fake construction photos, and proof that no project existed in Dharuhera
- Filed a simultaneous civil recovery suit in District Court, Gurgaon
Month 1 — Tracking the Fraudster
- The friend had changed his phone number and moved to a different city
- We tracked him through his Aadhaar-linked bank account, he had been using the same account in Jaipur
- Filed an application for a Look Out Circular (LOC) to prevent him from leaving the country
- Obtained a court order to freeze his bank accounts and attach his property in Jaipur
Month 2–3 — Arrest and Pressure
- The police traced the friend to Jaipur based on the bank account activity
- He was arrested and brought to Gurgaon for questioning
- During interrogation, the police discovered that our client was not the only victim — the friend had cheated 4 other people using the same fake project, collecting a total of approximately 6.2 crore rupees
- All 5 victims were connected, and a consolidated case was built
Month 4–6 — Recovery
- The fraudster’s Jaipur property (a flat worth approximately 2 crore rupees, one plot in Noida worth Rs. 3 Core and a commercial office in Bangalore costing Rs. 2.60 crore) was attached by the court
- His wife came forward and offered to settle on his behalf to avoid further criminal proceedings
- We negotiated a structured settlement: ₹65 lakh to be returned immediately from the sale of the attached property, and the remaining rupees 23 lakh in one year installments
- Criminal case remained active as a guarantee until full payment was received
The Result
Our client recovered rupees 65 lakh in full within one year. The criminal case was closed after the final instalment was received. The other 4 victims also recovered significant portions of their money through the consolidated case.
Someone cheated you and disappeared with your money? Don’t accept it as a loss. Call us +91-8920245815 to recovers your money through criminal and civil action.
