CHENNAI: Tambaram Crime Branch police have arrested a 39-year-old woman who posed as an auditor and cheated customers by collecting money for Income Tax and GST payments using fake receipts.
The accused, Nadia, a resident of Tambaram, runs a private firm on Kakan Street, under the name Genun Tax, through which she had been providing Income Tax and GST filing services.
Victor Gnanaraj (38), a resident of Kovur near Porur, approached Nadia along with his brother after they sold a house jointly owned by them. As the property transaction had to be reflected in their Income Tax records, the brothers handed over their financial details, PAN card numbers and OTPs to Nadia.
Nadia, who had completed BCom, informed them that they had to pay 3.65 lakh as TDS. She told them that the amount would be refunded to their bank accounts by the Income Tax Department before the end of the financial year. Trusting her, the brothers paid the amount and received a stamped receipt from her.
However, when the money was not credited to their accounts as promised, they questioned Nadia, and she failed to provide a proper explanation.
A complaint was filed. An investigation found that the Income Tax receipt issued to the brothers was fake. Nadia had paid only Rs 365 to the Income Tax Department and edited the receipt to show 3.65 lakh before affixing a fake Income Tax seal and handing it over to the victims.
The police searched her office and seized several seals, computers and fake receipts. Nadia admitted to collecting money from several unsuspecting customers.
Police suspect that she had conned customers of around 66 lakh in a similar manner over the past five years. Nadia was arrested and remanded in judicial custody.