Marathi Actor Sagar Karande Loses More Than ₹61 Lakh in Shocking Online Part-Time Job Scam

Marathi actor Sagar Karande lost ₹61.83 lakh to an online part-time job fraud. He was tricked into it by spurious social media jobs and investment in cryptocurrencies. Police have lodged a case under cybercrime law.

Mumbai:
In a shocking case, popular Marathi actor and comedian Sagar Karande, who is well-liked for his performances in hit TV shows such as Chala Hawa Yeu Dya and Fu Bai Fu, has become a victim of an online fraud, losing around ₹61.83 lakh.

According to the North Cyber police, Sagar Karande, 45, a resident of Kandivali East, approached the authorities after realising he had been duped. The actor, who lives with his wife and daughter, was first contacted on February 23 via WhatsApp and Telegram by a woman identifying herself as Meena Sakpal, allegedly an employee of a global advertising and marketing technology company.

Sakpal presented Karande with an apparently easy part-time job — liking social media videos — for a payment of ₹150 per video. The scheme seemed genuine at first. Karande earned around ₹11,000 by sending screenshots of his work and providing his bank details. Establishing trust, the fraudsters then requested him to download an app and invest in USDT/Bitcoin, displaying fictitious profits that grew to ₹27.51 lakh in a short period.

Karande was even allowed a partial withdrawal of ₹11,000 to give him a confidence boost. But when he attempted to withdraw more money, he was informed that his credit score was low and that he had to pay ₹19 lakh to “unlock” his money. The cheats later said a 30% tax payment was required for the withdrawal and took another ₹17 lakh from the actor.

The trap intensified when, following several transfers, Karande was told that his tax payment had been “sent to the wrong account” and that the payment had not been received. Realizing he had been cheated, the actor complained immediately to the police.

A case has been filed against unknown persons under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, such as Section 319(2) (cheating by personation), 318(4) (cheating), 336(2) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable documents), 340 (forged document or electronic record), and 61 (criminal conspiracy), and appropriate provisions of the Information Technology Act.

The authorities are following the case actively and have asked the people to remain extremely vigilant while handling online half-time work opportunities and investment proposals.