A high-profile Indian couple has been arrested in North Texas, USA on charges of a scam worth crores of rupees. Siddharth Mukherjee and his wife Sunita are allegedly accused of duping more than 100 people into paying them at least $4 million (around Rs 33 crore) by promising to invest in real estate projects. Many people invested in the Mukherjee couple’s scheme and started facing financial difficulties. Prosecutors say that to win people’s trust, the couple lived a glamorous life, organized charity programs and showed themselves as successful businessmen. However, all this was just a pretense for these people.
The victims claim that they were lured with high returns and asked to invest in real estate deals. Suspicions arose when the cheques started bouncing. One of the victims, Sheshu Madabhushi, lamented that he should have been more cautious while asking questions but he never realised the fraud. Another victim of the fraud, Terry Parwaga, said, “They will make you believe that they are very successful businessmen. But they will take every penny from you.”
Initially, several police departments dismissed the complaints as civil disputes. However, Euless Police Detective Brian Brennan took over the case in 2024 after a couple contacted him and claimed to have lost $325,000 in the alleged scheme. Several investors accused the Mukherjees of issuing fake remodeling contracts and invoices from the Dallas Housing Authority to persuade them to invest in supposedly lucrative projects. However, when Detective Brennan contacted the DHA he learned that no such project existed.
According to the affidavit, the Mukherjee couple allegedly used fabricated documents, such as paperwork, receipts and email correspondence, to defraud investors. Investigators believe that this fraud was not limited to just one deal. The case got more complicated when the FBI got involved. It is estimated that the victims have lost more than 4 million dollars.