Bengaluru flats sold using fake identity: Rs 1.9 crore loan scam busted

In a dramatic real estate scam straight out of a movie script, Bengaluru police have registered an FIR against 12 individuals, including real estate agent Anurag and a Canara Bank manager, for allegedly selling flats using a fake identity and defrauding a property owner.

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The scam began when a woman named Mary Harrit, the genuine owner of three flats in an apartment complex in Kavalusandra, was introduced to Anurag by a person named Surya. Claiming that Anurag was a well-known name in real estate, Surya convinced Mary to trust him. Mary handed over her Aadhaar card, PAN card, and property documents, not realizing they would be misused.

Anurag and his gang allegedly created a fake woman posing as Mary, using the documents to impersonate her at the sub-registrar’s office. Though the biometric Aadhaar verification initially failed, the gang manipulated Mary by asking for her OTP under the guise of linking her Aadhaar to a property account. Trusting them, Mary unknowingly shared the OTP, which the gang then used to bypass verification.

Using the fake identity, the gang managed to illegally sell all three flats to individuals named Hemanth and Krishna, who are also believed to be members of the gang. The fraud didn’t stop there, they opened a fake bank account in Mary’s name at Canara Bank, where they secured a loan of Rs 1.9 crore. The loan amount was transferred from the fake account to Anurag’s personal account.

The scam came to light following a complaint, and an FIR has now been registered at KJ Halli Police Station against Anurag, the bank manager, and ten other individuals for criminal conspiracy, forgery, and financial fraud.