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Canada: Fee con: 32 Telugu students in Canada, US trapped, lose Rs 2.7 crore | Hyderabad News
HYDERABAD: A student form city studying in Canada, his father and his friend have been arrested for duping 32 Telugu students in the US and Canada of 2.7 crore after luring them with an offer to save college fees but in the bargain ensnaring them in an elaborate maze of hawala, crypto and cloned credit card fraud.
Based on the complaints of the victims, cops arrested Deverashetty Gautham (22), who was pursuing BS in Canada and had come to India a month ago, his father Devarashetty Pedda Venkateshwarulu (55), a millets businessman, and friend Kohirkar Nitesh (24), all from Hyderabad.
Cops said that Gautham, who went to Canada three years ago, joined various students’ WhatsApp groups in the US and Canada and collected details of Telugu students.
“Gautham offered 10% fee concession if students agreed to pay through him. He convinced students that he would collect the fee amount from their family in India in rupees and pay the college in the US or Canada through his credit cards of local banks, saving them money transfer charges,” joint commissioner Gajarao Bhupal said.
After the parents transferred the fee amount to the bank account of his father, the duo kept 45% as their share and transferred the rest to Nitesh.
“Nitesh then transferred the amount to Dubai-based Zibron in cryptocurrency after deducting his 5% share,” inspector K Hari Bhushan said. The college fee was later paid by Zibron using cloned international credit cards.
“Once the original card holder reports fraudulent transaction, it takes about one to two months for academic institution to get bank alert. The institution notifies the student to either pay the fee again or face cancellation of admission. All the students ended up paying the fee again and the 32 victims lost 2.7 crore in this manner,” ACP KVM Prasad said. All the three accused were remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday.
Based on the complaints of the victims, cops arrested Deverashetty Gautham (22), who was pursuing BS in Canada and had come to India a month ago, his father Devarashetty Pedda Venkateshwarulu (55), a millets businessman, and friend Kohirkar Nitesh (24), all from Hyderabad.
Cops said that Gautham, who went to Canada three years ago, joined various students’ WhatsApp groups in the US and Canada and collected details of Telugu students.
“Gautham offered 10% fee concession if students agreed to pay through him. He convinced students that he would collect the fee amount from their family in India in rupees and pay the college in the US or Canada through his credit cards of local banks, saving them money transfer charges,” joint commissioner Gajarao Bhupal said.
After the parents transferred the fee amount to the bank account of his father, the duo kept 45% as their share and transferred the rest to Nitesh.
“Nitesh then transferred the amount to Dubai-based Zibron in cryptocurrency after deducting his 5% share,” inspector K Hari Bhushan said. The college fee was later paid by Zibron using cloned international credit cards.
“Once the original card holder reports fraudulent transaction, it takes about one to two months for academic institution to get bank alert. The institution notifies the student to either pay the fee again or face cancellation of admission. All the students ended up paying the fee again and the 32 victims lost 2.7 crore in this manner,” ACP KVM Prasad said. All the three accused were remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday.
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