Mumbai Man Diagnosed With Dementia after Losing Rs 9 Cr in Online Romance Fraud

The fraud, which recently saw light, involved one woman, suspected to be acting as four individuals. The fraudster duped the elderly of a staggering Rs 8.7 crore through 734 online transactions and left the him financially and emotionally drained.

According to the reports, the story starts with a Facebook friend request by the victim to an account named Sharvi sent in April 2023 .

Although she didn’t initially accept it, later sent a request to the victim from her account, which he accepted. Their conversations quickly shifted from Facebook to WhatsApp. The woman introduced herself as a divorcee living with two children. Gradually, she began to ask money from the man for her children’s medical needs.

Shortly, another character, Kavita was added into the case, claiming that she is a friend of Sharvi and started to send inappropriate messages to him, asking for money. By December, another woman, Dinaz reached out, claiming to be Sharvi's sister and told him that Sharvi had passed away and as her last wish, she asked Dinaz to take money from the man for her hospital bills. Dinaz even sent him the screenshots of WhatsApp chats and fooled him.

When the elderly man requested his money back, Dinaz threatened to commit suicide. Shortly, another woman named Jasmine, who claimed to be a friend of Dinaz, also texted him seeking money; he sent money to her also.

Between April 2023 and January 2025, the man transferred almost Rs 8.7 crores in 734 transactions. When he ran short of funds, he even borrowed money from his daughter-in-law and son. This made the son suspicious, and the man revealed the reason behind these financial requests. When the truth came out, the elderly man was shocked and was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with dementia, due to the shocking situation.

A cybercrime complaint was lodged by the man on July 22 this year, and an FIR was registered on August 6, as per reports.

Police investigation is underway.