Cons posing as Elon Musk swindle Rs 72 lakh from ex-pilot

The cons swindled money from him between January and June last year. (Representational image)

A 65-year-old former pilot was duped of Rs 72 lakh over a period of six months by fraudsters posing as Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

The cons posed as Elon Musk, his mother Maye Musk and assistant Anna Sherman. They convinced the pilot that he was investing in Tesla and SpaceX shares, according to a report by Times of India.

They swindled money from him between January and June last year. The former pilot had made 22 transactions to the accused before he realized that was being cheated.

According to the complainant, in January 2024, he was followed by two accounts - 'MayeMuskXOfficials' and 'IamAnnaSherman' - on X and he started communicating with them.

"When I expressed my admiration for Elon Musk's work, Sherman said she could me to him if I wished to invest in his companies SpaceX and Tesla. I agreed and received a WhatsApp number, that I was told belonged to Musk," he said in his complaint, according to TOI.

The fraudster convinced the former pilot, who now runs a farm house in Mangar, to transfer Rs 2.9 lakh to a Kotak Mahindra bank account belonging to Bajirao Hariba Lokhande on January 25, 2024.

When he asked for an acknowledgement of the payment, Anna Sherman texted him saying his money was invested in Tesla and he should invest more to own a Tesla vehicle.

The pilot invested more money and realised he was being cheated only after he made 22 bank and PayPal transfers worth Rs 72 lakh.

In June, another person contacted the complainant and introduced himself as Deepak Chakravorthy. This man said he was the CEO of the company managing his investments made to Tesla and SpaceX and told the former pilot that his earnings were up to Rs 78 lakh. But, the WhatsApp caller said, the former pilot would have to pay Rs 7.3 lakh as tax to withdraw this amount. "I refused to pay and asked them to deduct the amount and transfer the balance to me," the complainant who runs a farmhouse in Mangar said, TOI reported.

A cheating case has been registered and further investigation is underway.