Rs 2.5 Crore looted from me, Woman raised allegations against Private Bank Manager

A big fraud case has come to light. The news is going viral on internet. A senior citizen woman has been defrauded of Rs.2.5 crore by a private Bank manager in India.

A 75-year-old American woman living in Mumbai, Elisabeth Iler, has alleged that she was cheated out of ₹2.5 crore by her former relationship manager at a private bank. Elisabeth, who lives in Andheri with her Indian husband, said she has been trying hard to get an FIR (First Information Report) registered, but the police have not taken action yet.

The money she lost was the entire amount she earned after selling her property in Florida, USA, back in 2019. However, the relationship manager has denied all the accusations, calling them “baseless and false.”

How the fraud allegedly happened

In 2013, Elisabeth and her husband bought a small apartment in Florida. They sold it in 2019 for around ₹2.5 crore because they were worried about climate change and frequent hurricanes. “That money was everything I had saved in my lifetime,” Elisabeth said.

In 2009, she moved to India and deposited her savings in the Indian branch of an American bank. She hoped to spend her retirement years peacefully. Unfortunately, she claims her trust was betrayed by her bank’s former relationship manager and a woman introduced to her as his wife.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, between 2020 and 2022, Elisabeth was stuck in New York. She started talking with the relationship manager—who was also her wealth manager—about ways to invest her savings in India. He encouraged her to invest in India instead of keeping the money in her US bank account.

Elisabeth said she was convinced to buy flats worth ₹2.5 crore in Chandigarh and Noida. But the promised properties were never built. “They used their position and knowledge about my accounts to lie and trick me. They made me think I was safely investing in India, but they actually transferred my money into their own accounts,” she said.

She alleged that the relationship manager took her OTPs (One-Time Passwords), forged her signature, and withdrew money from her accounts in America—while making it look like he was helping her. “Even his senior supervisor knew what was going on but stayed silent,” Elisabeth added.

Her struggle for justice

Elisabeth first approached the DN Nagar police station with her complaint but didn’t get an FIR registered. She then contacted Mumbai’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW). However, the EOW usually investigates financial frauds only if they involve ₹10 crore or more.

“I’m 75 years old, but I’m not asking for sympathy—I just want justice,” Elisabeth said emotionally. “Don’t let this crime go unanswered.” She said that the fraud has robbed her of peace of mind and made her anxious about her future. “I’ve lost weight, lost sleep, and lost my faith in people,” she shared.

Elisabeth’s lawyer, Himanshu Maratkar, said this was not just financial fraud, but a “deliberate and planned financial assault” on an elderly woman who trusted the Indian banking system. “The suspects used their insider access to get her OTPs, forge documents, and transfer her savings into private accounts under the false promise of investments,” he said.

Maratkar pointed out: “No real banker takes a client’s money into their own account and calls it an investment. This was a serious betrayal of trust.”

What the accused says

The DN Nagar police have recorded the statement of the former relationship manager. He denied any wrongdoing and said Elisabeth had received properties and shares in return for her payments. He claimed that the complaint hides the benefits she received and gives a wrong impression.

Meanwhile, Elisabeth continues to wait for action. “They promised me everything but gave me nothing. They fooled me completely. I just want the truth to come out,” she said.