An Outlandish Conman and His Con of Unprecedented Scale
He made millions and it all looked so easy
A man extorted roughly 30 million USD when he was in the country’s biggest prison. A 32-year guy who spent half his life hoodwinking rich and smart people. He didn’t pursue studies post-school only because he couldn’t wait to become a millionaire.
At 17 he had already mastered the art of impersonation. He forged the signature of the police commissioner of Bangalore authorising him to drive anywhere in Karnataka even though he was a minor at that time.
The probe team, while rubbing their heads in disbelief, acknowledged the X-factor in him that can charm a devil.
By 2007, before turning even 18, he had duped over 100 people by posing as a bureaucrat. He made false promises of getting work done by the Bangalore Development Authority. He would research the background of the person and then introduce himself as a senior official. A smooth-talker, Sukesh would easily convince the person of his ‘ability’ to help resolve the issue.
Wealth and run-in with the law —he marks his target based on these two conditions.
On one occasion he made a deal for 50 Crore with the ruling party of Tamilnadu to influence the election commission on the subject of retaining the party symbol. He got caught in 2017 and was serving the sentence when he pulled the biggest con of its variety.
The sheer magnitude of a heist in plain sight
He posed as a secretary from the ministry of law and home to call Aditi Singh, the wife of the former owner of Ranbaxy group, Shivinder Singh. “Honourable Home Minister (Amit Shah) has personally asked me to call you… You are being taken care of by the top-most office of this country.” He used spoofing software to change his voice while acting as different senior government officials.
He knew she is desperate to secure bail for her beleaguered husband who is serving a jail term on several charges of financial fraud. He locked her as his number-one target — vulnerability with riches — is what he had always sought.
He got himself an emptied barrack which was meant for several inmates. His bed was covered by curtains to hide several assets he had access to. He was living a luxurious life in jail by heavily bribing the whole line. The size of the sack has outpowered the consequences of abetment. All the jail officials who colluded with him have been arrested.
According to an audio transcript where Sukesh was posing as Anoop Kumar, law secretary of India.
Anoop: Hello Aditi: Yes, Sir Anoop: He need not worry about the family, and about you or about himself. You all are our responsibility as a government. And we are moving forward to start a new beginning also. Please tell him (Shivendra) that. Aditi: Sir he (husband Shivendra) is requesting a short meeting it would really give him comfort. Anoop: Meeting? Does he want to meet? Aditi: He is saying that since he can’t meet he is requesting a short physical meeting with me. Request you to arrange a meeting with him, just to give him some comfort. Anoop: You tell him not to be worried. Tell him to let us do our job. We know what we are doing. Tell him to look forward to coming out rather than all this kind of confusion that he is having. He can come and directly meet and we can have a conversation on the future that we have to take forward. Tell him that in the current scenario with everything happening how does he feel that it’s appropriate to have a meeting. Please ask him that. Anoop: Hope he understood everything, I tried to communicate. Aditi: Yes sir I will tell him again Anoop: You don’t worry. I am just going to finish this conversation with everybody and will call you. Aditi: Thank you. We are grateful. Anoop: Jai hind Aditi: Jai hind
He would invariably end his call with “Jai-Hind” (Hail India) to doubly assure he is from the Government.
In several such calls, Sukesh, as a government official, kept assuring Aditi that things will be fine. Later, Sukesh, posing as Abhinav (Home secretary), told Aditi that having studied the magnitude and complexity of their cases and the fact that the government would guide how to resolve all the problems, a decision had been made that the contribution would have to be to the tune of Rs 100 crore.
He weaved around her a tantalizing web of possibilities. She fell squarely into the well, there was no reason not to. The stakes were too high for her. She checked the number, it was for home or law ministries landline numbers as he claimed. He also shared a few intricate details about the cases and how his department is working to resolve them. During the course of one year of pandemic induced restrictions, he made her transfer 215 Crores (INR) for party fund.
He was unaware that the Enforcement Directorate was tapping his calls. It was ED who informed Aditi of the swindle.
The vagaries of the conman
He is a man who is driven squarely by instincts — easily smitten by Bollywood heroines — he spent a fortune on lavish gifts. He befriended Jacquline Fernandes, an A-list actress. Her beautician was tipped several lacs just to facilitate access. He gifted the actress a high-end car and a racehorse, not to mention the jewellery which is worth a king’s ransom.
He booked a chartered flight for her to travel within India. He knew that she hasn’t got many films under her, he weaved stories to turn her career around by getting her into Hollywood, that too a film with Leonardo DiCaprio. She, like others, believed all his tall tales, one of them being — a 500Cr series of woman superhero project that would involve Hollywood VFX artists.
She didn’t know his real identity for months. He introduced himself as the son of a business tycoon and he did all this while being in jail. When he came out on parole they dated frequently. He tried his luck with many big names in the industry by showering super-pricey gifts but didn’t make any noteworthy progress.
His wife, Leena, a former actress and his partner in all crimes, had been in the loop when he was dating other women. It’s a strange world on the hustler’s side.
There is no limit to how much a possessed man can bend the law of the land. He freed himself from the consequences and that turned his act into masterpiece. Ethics and morality is the subject for a later time.