56-Year-Old Man Duped Of ₹33.53 Lakh In Fake Medical Admission Scam

Mumbai: The MIDC police have registered an FIR against two persons for allegedly cheating a man of Rs 33.53 lakh on the pretext of securing admission for his daughter to a medical college in Chennai. The complainant, Lesley Pinto, 56, resides in Andheri and is retired. The accused have been identified as Rocky Savio and Stephen Peter.

As per the FIR registered on December 5, Pinto’s 19-year-old daughter, Azal could not secure admission due to low marks in NEET in July 2022. Pinto was introduced to Savio by a relative. Pinto first spoke to Savio over the phone, who told him that his business partner, Stephen, a ‘global career advisor’, could arrange admission in Chennai. On September 19, 2022, Pinto contacted Stephen, who demanded Rs 30 lakh, along with service tax, hostel fees, and processing charges.

Pinto transferred the entire amount online through RTGS from his Bank of India account to a Standard Bank account belonging to one Johan Peter. On December 18, 2022, the accused called Pinto, his wife, and their daughter to Madras Medical College, where they were made to wait for several hours. Stephen later arrived and said that a confirmation email would be sent in January 2023. Subsequently, Stephen cited personal reasons for delaying the process and later claimed the admission would be confirmed in June 2023.

However, nothing materialised. Later, the accused switched off their phones and became untraceable. After repeated follow-ups and receiving no satisfactory response, the Pinto couple finally approached the police and filed a complaint. The police have registered a case against Savio and Peter under Sections 3(5) (general explanation), 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

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