Jaipur: US Woman buys Rs 6 crore jewellery from Instagram seller, later discovers it's worth only Rs 300

A US woman named Cherish was swindled into purchasing artificial jewellery valued at Rs 300 for an astounding Rs 6 crore by a shop owner in Rajasthan, according to the police. Cherish, a US citizen, bought silver jewellery with gold polish from a shop located in Johri Bazaar, Jaipur. When she showcased the jewellery at an exhibition in the US this April, it was revealed to be counterfeit. Following this discovery, Cherish traveled to India to confront the shop owner.

Upon confronting, the shop owner denied the allegations. Cherish then filed a police complaint in Jaipur. Additionally, she sought assistance from the US embassy, which has requested Jaipur Police to investigate the incident.

According to officials, Cherish had met the owner through Instagram in 2022. Over the past two years, she paid Rs 6 crore for what she believed were genuine ornaments.


The police are currently searching for owner Gaurav Soni and his father, Rajendra Soni, who are both on the run. "Special teams have been formed to trace the two men," stated an official.

The case has raised significant concerns about the authenticity of products sold to international buyers and the need for stricter regulations to prevent such frauds in the future.

In another fraud case, a 41-year-old businessman from Nagpur lost Rs 87 lakhs to a fraudulent online platform, believing he was investing in the New York Stock Exchange. He was assured a profit of Rs 8 crore but ended up losing the money within 10 days.

A complaint has been lodged at the Lakadganj police station.

The scam started when the victim, Mishra, received a friend request on Facebook from the accused, Jesleen Prasad. Prasad then offered Mishra an opportunity to trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Prasad introduced Mishra to the portal newyorkstockexchangev.top and shared screenshots of successful trades by other investors to gain his trust.

Mishra provided his bank details and received a login ID for the trading platform. Initially, he invested Rs 50,000, which reportedly grew to Rs 1.42 lakh within 10 minutes, and the money was transferred to his bank account.

Encouraged by this, Mishra was later persuaded to invest Rs 30 lakh with the promise of 10x returns, agreeing to share 10% of the profits with the platform operators. However, the entire amount was lost within 10 minutes. Prasad blamed the loss on Mishra's failure to follow instructions.

Mishra was then offered another chance to invest Rs 57 lakh with a promise of 10x gains. After making this investment, the trading screen showed a profit of Rs 8 crore. When Mishra requested a transfer of the profits to his bank account, he was told a security code was required, necessitating an additional payment of Rs 82 lakh. By this time, Mishra had already filed a police complaint.