A 71-year-old retired Indian Army Colonel and his wife have allegedly been cheated of nearly ₹1.98 crore in a premeditated online investment and cyber fraud after being lured through a fake trading platform that misused the name of a well-known stock market expert.
The victim, a resident of Richards Town in Bengaluru, stated that he and his wife were induced into investing large sums of money after his wife came across an online advertisement by an entity in mid-December 2025, promising high and guaranteed returns.
According to the complaint, the couple was contacted by a woman identifying herself as Swati Verma, who claimed the investment scheme was associated with a reputed stock trader. The victims were subsequently added to a WhatsApp group, which had over 60 members.
Believing the scheme to be genuine, the couple downloaded the ‘Stokohni’ app from the Google Play Store and, between December 16, 2025, and January 5, 2026, transferred approximately ₹1.98 crore through bank transfers on different dates to multiple accounts provided by the fraudsters. The amount reportedly constituted their entire life savings.
On December 31, the couple was informed that a so-called ‘loan’ of ₹40 lakh had been generated in their account and needed to be cleared to continue trading. Acting in good faith, they paid the amount. However, when they attempted to withdraw funds on January 9, they were told to clear another alleged loan of ₹70 lakh, raising suspicion.
The fraud came to light after the victims contacted the official online trading support team, which informed them via email on January 12 that the scheme was fraudulent.
The victims have now approached the authorities seeking registration of a case, investigation into the bank accounts, mobile numbers and WhatsApp groups involved, and recovery of the defrauded amount. The Cybercrime Police, based on the complaint registered an FIR against unknown persons, charging them under the IT Act and under cheating and impersonation under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on Friday.
Published – January 18, 2026 09:28 pm IST
