The Noida Police have booked a chartered accountant and his associates for allegedly cheating a company CEO of ₹15 lakh by issuing a forged bank guarantee for a railway project. The FIR was lodged at Beta-2 Police Station following a court order.

According to the complaint filed by Praveen Kumar, CEO of Tangent Infratech Pvt. Ltd., his firm required a bank guarantee for an ongoing railway project. He reached out to his relationship manager, Furqan, at ICICI Bank’s Sector 18, Noida branch, to help arrange the guarantee.

Forged Guarantee Worth ₹1.29 Crore

Furqan introduced Kumar to Brajesh Pandey, a chartered accountant who claimed to have connections with multiple banks. Pandey, through his company CMC Services IMS Pvt. Ltd., allegedly issued a fake bank guarantee worth ₹1.29 crore, purportedly from Bank of Baroda’s Bijasan branch in Madhya Pradesh.

In exchange, the accused charged ₹15.34 lakh as a “financial consultancy fee.” The fraud came to light when the Railway Department sought verification from Bank of Baroda, which confirmed that no such guarantee had been issued.

Complaint and Police Investigation

Realizing the fraud, Praveen Kumar attempted to contact Pandey and his associates, but they stopped responding. The FIR mentions that the forged documents carried fake seals, signatures, and reference numbers, making them appear genuine.

The Station House Officer (SHO) of Beta-2 Police Station confirmed the registration of the case and said an investigation is underway.

“We are examining all aspects of the fraud, including the financial trail. The accused will be questioned soon,” the SHO stated.

Initial findings suggest that Pandey and his firm may have used similar tactics in other consultancy scams. The cyber and financial investigation units are now tracing the money flow and related communications.

Caution for Businesses

Authorities have urged business owners and contractors to verify all financial guarantees directly with banks before transferring money, especially in project-related transactions.

This incident highlights the growing concern over professional frauds in the corporate and infrastructure sectors of Noida and Greater Noida.

The Nagpur Police has uncovered a massive cybercrime syndicate that scammed job seekers and investors across 21 states in India. The gang, which used fake business offers and online investment schemes, reportedly laundered more than ₹21 crore through digital money-muling, online betting, and hawala channels.

So far, 23 suspects have been arrested, while five remain absconding. Police say the network had international links, with suspected masterminds operating from China and Cambodia.

How the Cyber Fraud Began

The case started with a complaint by Deepak Gaidhane (28) from Gondia. He was introduced to Sumit Patle, a man from Nagpur who offered him a partnership in a so-called machinery tools business. To proceed, Gaidhane submitted his Aadhaar and PAN cards for company registration.

Unknown to him, the gang registered a fake firm named “Deepak Enterprises” and opened a current account in his name at a local bank. Between October 13 and 27, 2025, transactions worth ₹1.73 crore were routed through this account without his consent.

The investigation later revealed that over 80 mule bank accounts were used to move money across the country before it was converted to dollars and sent abroad via hawala networks.

Chinese Apps and Encrypted Channels Used in the Scam

According to Police Commissioner Ravinder Singhal, the syndicate used malicious Chinese apps and encrypted communication channels to execute their crimes.

Fraudsters attracted victims through fake job and investment advertisements and then sent them APK files embedded with Chinese code. Once installed, these apps stole users’ bank credentials, OTPs, and personal data.

The funds were routed through illegal trading and betting apps such as RPMTA and AFMHNW, while communication among gang members took place through Telegram and WhatsApp using coded messages.

“The masterminds are operating from China and Cambodia. We are working with central agencies to trace the international money trail,” said Commissioner Singhal.

Pan-India Network: 174 Complaints and Multiple FIRs

Data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) revealed 174 complaints linked to this network, with 25 cases reported from Maharashtra alone — including Mumbai, Thane, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Navi Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.

Police have filed seven FIRs so far, including:

• 2 in Mumbai
• 2 in Navi Mumbai
• 2 in Nagpur
• 1 in Thane

During multiple raids, police seized a large volume of fake documents and digital evidence, including:

• 8 shop and establishment registration certificates
• 9 fake rental agreements
• 61 cheque books
• 50 SIM cards
• 38 mobile phones
• 14 forged rubber stamps and banners

Authorities also froze ₹53 lakh in various bank accounts, seized a BMW car, and confiscated assets worth ₹17.47 lakh.

A Web of Deception and Technology Misuse

Commissioner Singhal described the operation as “a sophisticated blend of trust manipulation and technology misuse.”

Fraudsters targeted unemployed youth by offering business deals, then used their documents to create shell firms and launder crores through mule accounts.

“Freezing these accounts and arresting the operators has crippled a major part of their network,” Singhal added.

Citizens are advised not to share personal or financial documents with unverified individuals or companies and to check the authenticity of online job or business offers before engaging.

Larger Links to Global Cybercrime Rings

Investigators suspect the operation may be part of a larger Southeast Asian cyber-laundering network. Authorities are now tracing five absconding members believed to be in contact with foreign handlers.

This case highlights the growing complexity of digital financial crimes and the urgent need for public awareness, cyber hygiene, and strict regulatory oversight in India’s digital economy.

Pittsburgh NORML is working to push forward legislation to allow cannabis for adults in Pennsylvania.

In Pennsylvania’s second-largest city, advocates are busy working to legalize adult-use cannabis.

Last month, two lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 846 to legalize adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania. The bill currently waits for review from the Senate Law and Justice Committee for further deliberation. Next Pittsburgh reports that advocates at a local Pittsburgh branch of NORML are gearing up for legalization efforts in the state.

“This is a much bigger issue than just cannabis—it’s about giving people the right to be able to find health and wellness in the way that they want to and to not have to feel like the government will tell them how they’re allowed to heal,” says Gina Vensel, a cannabis educator and advocate in the area. Vensel is also on the executive committee of Pittsburgh NORML, the Pittsburgh branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

SB 846 is a bipartisan effort and was spearheaded by Sens. Daniel Laughlin and Sharif Street. The bill would establish a Cannabis Regulatory Control Board, and allow adults 21 and over to purchase cannabis from retail locations. It would additionally allow medical cannabis cardholders to grow cannabis at home. Lastly it would expunge nonviolent cannabis-related convictions.

“Legalized adult use of marijuana is supported by an overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians and this legislation accomplishes that while also ensuring safety and social equity,” Laughlin said in a statement. “With neighboring states New Jersey and New York implementing adult use, we have a duty to Pennsylvania taxpayers to legalize adult use marijuana to avoid losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars of new tax revenue and thousands of new jobs.”

Problems Remain in Pittsburgh

High Times reported in 2018 that Solevo Wellness was the city’s first medical dispensary, and is the fourth operating medical cannabis dispensary in the entire state of Pennsylvania. The process of establishing, licensing, and opening Solevo Wellness took about 18 months. The company credits much of their success in obtaining the proper permits to their hired industry consultant, Sara Gullickson.

Pittsburgh, located in Allegheny County, decriminalized cannabis in 2015. Part of the policy shift involved giving law enforcement a choice between arresting people for suspected cannabis offenses or simply giving them a citation. Further downstream the criminal legal system, prosecutors in Pennsylvania’s major cities enacted “decline to prosecute” policies for minor cannabis cases that went to trial.

Despite decriminalization locally, arrests for cannabis increased since Pittsburgh enacted decriminalization policies. Many officers at police departments are having a hard time letting go of the old policy, continuing to arrest rather than ticket suspected offenders.

 Analyzing all the criminal dockets filed in Allegheny County from 2016 to 2017, The Appeal broke down the 2,100-some cases where the top charge was possession of less than 30 grams of cannabis. They also looked at the thousands of arrests for minor possession police made over the same period.

Of the 2,100-plus cannabis-related cases in Allegheny County where the defendant received a misdemeanor possession charge, 51 percent of the people charged were Black. According to the most recent U.S. census data from 2017, 13.4 percent of all Allegheny residents are Black. And the dramatic racial disparity across the county is even more acute in Pittsburgh: Black people were charged in more than 400 of the 600 cases filed by the Pittsburgh Police Department. Black people comprised two-thirds of all cannabis cases in the city, despite representing just 24.3 percent of the city’s population. In other words, Pittsburgh police charged Black people for cannabis twice as much as white people.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Decriminalization

On a few notable occasions, Pittsburgh Pirate games provided a stage for decriminalization efforts and awareness.

Wiz Khalifa, a Pittsburgh native, is an advocate for both cannabis and psilocybin. He tossed the ceremonial first pitch on Monday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, prior to a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Guardians. “Finna get stoned af and throw this first pitch at the pirates game,” he tweeted, before following it up with more specifics. “Shroomed out throwin a baseball is crazy,” Wiz said in another tweet moments later.

Former Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis pulled off a pitch on acid as well on June 12, 1970. 

It was on that day that Ellis reputedly threw a no-hitter while tripping on LSD. 

“According to Ellis (and, it should be noted, all of this is according to Ellis), he went to visit a friend in Los Angeles the day before his start, took some acid and stayed up late into the night drinking and doing drugs, subsequently losing track of which day it was,” Sports Illustrated wrote in 2017. “The day of his start, he woke up and, thinking he was supposed to pitch the next day, took another hit of acid at noon, only to learn two hours later from his friend that he was, in fact, supposed to be on the mound against the Padres that evening in San Diego. Ellis got on a plane an hour later and made it to the park 90 minutes before first pitch.”

For the time being, advocates in the city remain busy at work.

Source: https://hightimes.com/news/pittsburgh-advocates-unite-to-legalize-adult-use-cannabis-in-pennsylvania/