Surat: An M.Tech-qualified engineer allegedly masqueraded as a govt cyberforensic officer to cheat three Surat residents of nearly Rs 2 crore by promising lucrative returns through forensic trading, IP servers and cryptocurrency transactions.The accused, Priyank Vyas (34), who was arrested from a residential apartment in Mira Road, Mumbai, turned to conning others after he himself was cheated on an online investment platform, said Bishakha Jain, DCP (cybercrime).Jain told TOI, “Vyas was cheated in the past on globalswiftpay.com along with co-accused Kelawala. On this platform, they could invest and their investment could be seen online, but it was not actual. Both thought that they could cheat others in the same manner. So, they adopted a similar modus operandi and cheated three Surat victims of more than Rs 2 crore.”Vyas introduced himself as a ‘forensic cybercrime specialist’ with a doctorate in cybercrime. To gain the victims’ confidence, he displayed a fake identity card bearing the national emblem and the words ‘Satyamev Jayate’, claimed to travel in a govt-boarded car and operated a UPI ID and email account linked to cyberforensic services.The fraud began in Nov 2025 when chartered accountant and co-accused Rohan Kelawala introduced Vyas to the complainant, who was seeking assistance with banking and loan-related work. Vyas claimed he could generate substantial profits through forensic trading and offered the complainant a 20% partnership in his business.In Jan, the complainant initially paid Rs 18 lakh after being promised Rs 30 lakh within 60 days. Vyas subsequently sought more money under various pretexts, including server funds, IP purchases, cryptocurrency transactions, gas fees, transaction charges and withdrawal fees.He shared fabricated screenshots of cryptocurrency transactions, foreign bank cards and successful fund transfers to convince the victims that their investments were being processed. Whenever they attempted to withdraw money, he cited technical errors, wallet audits, withdrawal limits and server problems, demanding further payments.Between Nov 2025 and Oct 2026, Vyas collected Rs 1.29 crore from the complainant through cash, bank transfers, Google Pay, angadia channels and USDT transactions. He returned only Rs 4.7 lakh, leaving Rs 1.24 crore outstanding.Investigations revealed that the complainant’s friend had also paid Rs 74.90 lakh, while another Surat resident was allegedly cheated of Rs 7.50 lakh through a similar modus operandi, taking the suspected fraud to nearly Rs 2 crore.Police seized two mobile phones, two laptops, hard disks, pen drives, three crypto wallet cards, a fake cyberforensic department identity card, bank documents and two cars, including a BMW and a Honda City. The seized property was valued at approximately Rs 9.65 lakh.Accused bought BMW, flat in MumbaiInvestigations revealed that Vyas allegedly used the cheated money for personal luxuries instead of investing it as promised. He reportedly purchased a property worth around Rs 1.5 crore in Mumbai, a BMW luxury car and paid around Rs 80 lakh as token money for another flat.Vyas used the prefix ‘Dr’ and identified himself as ‘Dr Priyank Vyas, forensic cybercrime specialist, cyberForensic department, Mumbai.’ He also used a South African phone number to impress potential victims.
