Fake Video of Sadhguru Used in Cyber Scam, Dupes 57-Year-Old Bengaluru Woman of ₹3.75 Crore

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A woman from Bengaluru who was 57-year-old lost more than ₹3.75 crore after being tricked by a cyber fraud. The fraud used spiritual leader Sadhguru and created an AI-generated deepfake video. In the video the leader is promoting a fake stock-trading platform, police said on Thursday, 11 September 2025. The incident took place between February 25 and April 23, 2025, and was reported nearly five months later, making recovery of funds difficult.

According to the FIR filed at the East CEN police station, the victim, Varsha Gupta is the resident of CV Raman Nagar. She stumbled upon a video on YouTube while scrolling. The video showed a digitally altered clip of Sadhguru claiming that investing just $250 in a trading link would bring huge financial gains. Because of this, Varsha believed the video was genuine and clicked on the link and then shared her personal information.

See Also: Can you spot a deepfake?

Soon after, a man identifying himself as Waleed B contacted her from multiple UK-based phone numbers. Claiming to represent a company called Mirrox, he added her to a WhatsApp group which had nearly 100 members. Then he instructed her to download the Mirrox app. Waleed also conducted trading tutorials over Zoom, and another person, Michael C, acted as a backup instructor. The group regularly shared fake profit screenshots and account credits to make the scheme look real.

Convinced by these tactics, the woman transferred money from her bank accounts and credit cards to multiple accounts provided by the fraudsters. By April 23, she had transferred a total of ₹3.75 crore. Initially, the fake app displayed high returns on her investments. However, when she attempted to withdraw the funds, the scammers demanded additional charges for “processing fees” and “taxes.” When she refused, all communication was cut off. The woman realised she had been scammed.

According to a Senior Police officer, police said the case has been registered under the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Authorities are working with banks to freeze the linked accounts, but officers admitted that recovery will be challenging because of the delayed complaint.

The scam comes amid growing misuse of AI-generated videos of celebrities and public figures. In a post on X, Isha Foundation said that Sadhguru will not and never be promoting any financial scheme or any other product. And told people not to share any personal information or click any link.

Other public figures like Rashmika Mandanna, Rajdeep Sardesai, and Sudha Murty have also been targets of similar scams. [Rh/VP]

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