Conman dupes woman, hands over fake notes

Hubballi: In a shocking case of fraud, a man from Mysuru posing as a financier duped a Pune-based woman of Rs60 lakh, under the pretext of arranging a Rs50 crore loan. The accused, identified as Mohammad Asif, convinced the woman he could facilitate a low-interest loan for her daughter’s construction project in Mumbai. Asif demanded Rs60 lakh as processing fees and promised to deliver the first instalment of the sanctioned loan.

On June 5, he called the woman to Hubballi and handed over two suitcases allegedly containing Rs1.87 crore in cash in front of a hotel on Gokul Road. However, the woman discovered later that the suitcases were filled with counterfeit currency, except for a few genuine Rs5,000 notes placed on the top of each bundle. Acting swiftly, police traced and arrested Mohammad Asif from Murudeshwar. He allegedly sourced fake notes from Tamil Nadu.