Pune Law Student Loses Rs 1.41 Lakh to Cryptocurrency Scam

A Pune-based law student lost Rs 1.41 lakh (1,468 USDT) to a cryptocurrency scam after being lured by a fake online agent who posed as a woman named 'Princika Joshi' on Snapchat.

The student received the request from Princika in October 2025, and she convinced him to invest in cryptocurrency through Binance. She promised huge profits and asked the student to send USDT to her crypto wallet, claiming she would invest it and later transfer the profit to his account.

However, between January 9, 2026, and March 24, 2026, the student transferred the funds to Princika's wallet, but never received any profits. It was only when he checked her profile picture through Google Lens on July 19, 2026, that he discovered it was a photograph of a Chandigarh-based influencer.

The law student then realized he had been cheated and filed a complaint with the cyber police, leading to the registration of an FIR against Kunal Jitendra Admane, a hotel management professional from Pune. The police arrested Admane on August 31, 2026, and are investigating whether he has cheated more people in similar scams.