Mumbai: 75-year-old American woman alleges Rs 2.5 cr fraud by bank wealth manager, says cops not filing FIR

Elisabeth Iler, a retired professor from the US, who claims to be a victim of fraud and misappropriation of funds, at her Andheri residence. Pic/Diwakar Sharma

A 75-year-old American woman, Elisabeth Iler, who resides in Andheri with her Indian husband, has been running from pillar to post to get an FIR registered against a former relationship manager of her private bank who allegedly duped her of Rs 2.5 crore, which she had earned after selling off property in Florida in 2019. However, the relationship manager brushed aside the allegations, terming them baseless and false.

After initially approaching the DN Nagar police with her complaint, Iler reached out to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police, and officials are looking for more complainants to initiate an enquiry into the alleged financial scam, as the EOW investigates financial fraud only if the money involved is R10 crore or more.

Iler told mid-day, "In 2013, we bought a small condominium in Florida and in 2019 sold it for Rs 2.5 crore due to concerns about climate change and the increasing hurricanes and flooding occurring regularly in Florida. That money represented my entire wealth after a lifetime of working and helping others."

Elisabeth Iler, a retired professor from the US, who claims to be a victim of fraud and misappropriation of funds, at her Andheri residence. Pics/Diwakar Sharma

"I came to India in 2009 and deposited my life's savings in an American bank's local branch in 2019, hoping to live peacefully in my retirement. Unfortunately, my trust was destroyed by the private bank's former relationship manager and a woman whom he introduced to me as his wife. During the pandemic, from 2020 to 2022, I was stuck in New York City and began discussions with him [the relationship manager], who was my also wealth manager at the private bank in India, on how to increase my savings through investing in India. I was not benefiting from keeping the money in my US bank account, and he convinced me to think about India as an investment destination," said Iler, a retired professor who taught in New York City.

The allegations

According to Iler, she was duped into buying flats worth R2.5 crore in Chandigarh and Noida, but the property did not come up for various reasons.

She further claimed, "The young and seemingly charming couple abused my trust through their fiduciary position and knowledge of my savings with lies and stealth to strip me of my savings and slowly empty my bank accounts in America. They made me believe I was investing safely - into my own bank accounts in India. Instead, they took those funds and deposited my hard-earned money into their accounts. It was all a well-rehearsed plan to trap and cheat me."

"He took my OTPs, forged my signature and drained my accounts, all while I thought he was helping me. His senior supervisor watched this happen and remained silent. He, too, may have played a role in this outrageous deception. And four years later, after losing my life's savings, after losing my dignity and peace of mind, the cops at DN Nagar police station are still discussing whether my pain and suffering deserve an FIR," claimed the woman.

"I am 75 years old. But I still have a voice, and I am not asking anyone for sympathy but for justice. Please don't let these names and criminal deeds vanish behind power and silence. Don't let this crime go unanswered. In the past three years, at least, I lie awake every night with anxiety and loss of the joy of living and worry about facing a dark future. I have never cheated anyone in my life and was so shocked at the brazen theft by people I believed and trusted as I might my own children," said the American national.

"They are young and polished, this criminal couple, but they have turned my life into a living hell. A day does not pass when I do not feel shame for trusting them, anger at their ability to destroy my life's peace and their refusal to make good on the many promises they kept making. Excuse after excuse has so enraged me when I think about them, I have to go back to all my spiritual practices to regain any sense of balance in my life. I have lost weight, peace of mind and the ability to feel positive about the future," Iler said. "They are cheating many others. They told me that they had at least 200 foreign clients and non-resident Indians in their ‘portfolio', though I never met any of them, which I now also regret," she added.

‘Betrayal by banking system'

When contacted, Iler's lawyer, Himanshu Maratkar, said, "This case is not merely about financial fraud - it is a deliberate, premeditated financial assault on a 75-year-old woman who placed her trust in the Indian banking system and was systematically betrayed by it."

"Both the suspects weaponised their positions and used insider access to extract OTPs, forge authorisations and reroute her life savings into dubious entities under the false pretext of secure financial investments," he said.

"Which legitimate banker in any lawful system takes a client's money into his or her personal or privately controlled account and calls it an investment? This was not just a breach of fiduciary duty - it was a flagrant abuse of institutional trust and client vulnerability," said Maratkar.

Other side

After receiving a complaint letter from Maratkar, the DN Nagar police called the former relationship manager, whose statement was recorded.

The former relationship manager shared the statement that he had given to the DN Nagar police. Its summary reads: "There has been no fraud or misappropriation of any funds or securities of the woman by us. She [the US national] is the beneficiary of various transactions in the complaint and has received shares or property against the payments made by her. The complaint conveniently suppresses the benefits received by her and tries to paint an incorrect picture."

2009
Year Elisabeth Iler came to live in India

2 yrs
No. of years Elisabeth Iler was stuck in the US during the pandemic

CopSpeak

Rajendra Machidar, DN Nagar police station
Senior inspector of DN Nagar police station Rajendra Machidar told mid-day, "We have received a complaint from the advocate of the American national, and the veracity of the allegations is being verified."