An Indian man working as an Uber driver in Australia while studying Information Technology has been jailed after pretending to be a lawyer and cheating a homebuyer out of more than $200,000. The accused, 28-year-old Pardeep, was living in Australia on a student visa.
Indian Uber driver in Australia jailed for fake lawyer scam
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Pardeep created a fake version of a real Sydney law firm and used it to trick a prospective homebuyer into transferring large sums of money meant for a property purchase. The court was told that Pardeep came across the victim in October 2024, after the man approached a genuine Sydney-based real estate law firm to help with buying a house. Pardeep then got himself involved in the process.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, he registered a domain name that was almost identical to the real law firm’s website and began emailing the victim from an address that closely resembled the firm’s official email. At first glance, the messages appeared completely legitimate.
As the communication continued, Pardeep registered a company with a name similar to the real law firm. He opened a Westpac bank account linked to the business and listed himself as the owner and director.
Within a month, Pardeep asked the victim to transfer money linked to the house purchase, including stamp duty charges. Trusting the emails, the victim sent two payments totalling $209,874. The scam only came to light when the buyer later spoke directly to the real lawyer handling the transaction and realised the emails and payment requests were fake.
After the fraud was reported, police tracked the case back to Pardeep. Investigators found that out of the nearly $200,000 taken, only $900 could be recovered. The rest of the money had been spent on buying gold. Surveillance footage from the shop where the gold was purchased showed Pardeep making the transactions.
Accused denied guilt, claimed to run transport business
When questioned by police, Pardeep denied any wrongdoing. He claimed he was the owner of a transport company, but was unable to produce any customers or evidence to support the claim.
In court, his lawyer argued that Pardeep had been acting under the instructions of another man. Prosecutors rejected this, telling the court they found no proof that anyone else was involved in the crime.
The judge was clear in his ruling, saying Pardeep knew exactly what he was doing and that the fraud was carefully planned. Pardeep appeared before Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday, where he was sentenced to two years in prison, with a non-parole period of 14 months. Since the sentence was backdated to the day of his arrest, the court heard he would be eligible for release in June. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, once released, Pardeep is likely to be deported from Australia.