Just think about it: an apartment costing ₹200 crore for a mere ₹12 crore. For ordinary people, it would be hard to resist. This is exactly what happened in a shocking fraud involving real estate properties in Gurugram, when a buyer was scammed to the tune of ₹12 crore for an apartment that never existed.
This case has once again brought to light how fraudsters are taking advantage of the rising Indian luxury property market.
The scam started when a person from Gurugram was contacted by a firm offering a luxurious apartment in the DLF Camellias, one of the most expensive residential projects undertaken in India. The apartment was sold to the would-be buyer by the firm as it had already been acquired from a bank auction and therefore could be sold at a reduced price.
To ensure that the events in the story were believable, the accused provided what seemed like official paperwork, certificates, and receipts regarding the property. All seemed legitimate, right down to the letterheads. Trust had been established systematically.
Between August and October, the buyer transferred a total of ₹12 crore to the company. This was done systematically, which helped to strengthen a perception of a legitimate transaction. Finally, at this stage, no red flags were raised; at least, no obvious red flags.
The agreement was almost finalized. Then it suddenly wasn’t.
The questions began to arise when the buyer chose to check the claim that the bank auction took place on his own. When he telephoned the bank, the answer came directly and shockingly: no flat in DLF Camellias has ever been purchased through an auction.
A single confirmation derailed the entire agreement.
Further enquiry showed that all the documents produced by the company were entirely bogus – right down to receipts, certificates, and even letterheads.
On the complaint filed by the police, the authorities acted swiftly. Mohit Gogia and other members of the gang were arrested. The police also froze their suspected bank accounts and seized two luxurious cars that were allegedly purchased using proceeds from previous scams.
But what surprised investigators even more was finding out that this was not the first of its kind.
Police identified that the same gang had deceived other victims previously by offering luxury apartments in the vicinity of Ambience Mall and other prominent locations in the Delhi NCR area. Every time, the fraud followed the same modus operandi – forged documents, luxury apartments, and a price touchingly close to reality to dupe the victims.
This case illustrates the level of professionalism and planning that has entered the area of real estate fraud.
This incident of real estate fraud at Gurugram reminds us that there can be no short cut to verification when it comes to real estate. It has been emphasized that one must verify the details of the property from the real estate regulator, and then confirm the allegations made about the bank auction from the banks.
As they say, when it seems too good to be true, it just might be, and it could end up costing you crores.
