23-year-old's 210000000 scam leaves authorities stunned

In a startling scam case that emerged from India, a 23-year-old computer operator is charged with embezzling over INR 210 million from the account of a state-run sports department, local media reported.

Harshal Kumar Kshirsagar, has been charged by Maharashtra Police with making fabricated documents to transfer millions of rupees from bank account of the governmental sports department

According to police, Harshal Kumar Kshirsagar lived a luxurious lifestyle for several months, buying expensive stuff such as a four-bedroom condominium and fancy cars using the stolen money.

According to media reports, the 23-year-old computer operator was a contract employee worker and was receiving 13,000 rupees a month, carefully planned the scam. He allegedly sent a bogus email to the bank asking for a change in the email address linked to the department’s account using an outdated letterhead from the sports facility.

With just one letter separating them, his new email address was almost exactly the same as the old one.

Following the modification, Harshal Kumar Kshirsagar was able to get important financial information, such as OTPs. As a result, between July 1 and December 7, 2023, he was able to activate online banking and deposit Rs 21.6 crore into 13 distinct bank accounts.

According to the investigation the suspect astonished authorities by living a lavish lifestyle with the stolen funds.

His purchases included INR 1.2 crore BMW automobile, a INR1.3 crore SUV, a INR32 lakh BMW bike, a lavish four-bedroom apartment close to the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar airport for his girl friend, and diamond-encrusted spectacles.

Two of his alleged accomplices Yashoda Shetty and BK Jeevan, have also been arrested by the police on suspicion of aiding the plot. BK Jeevan is charged with using a portion of the pilfered money to purchase an upscale SUV valued at Rs 35 lakh, which has not yet been paid for.

According to authorities, Yashoda Shetty and BK Jeevan assisted in creating fake paperwork that let Harshal Kumar Kshirsagar move money into their personal accounts. The police are examining bank paperwork connected to the fraudulent transactions and have confiscated a number of expensive cars that were bought with the stolen funds.

In addition to recovering any items bought with the stolen money, the authorities are trying to ascertain whether additional people were engaged in the scheme.