An Elusive Indian Suspect at the Center of Indiana's Crypto Fraud

Authorities in Grant County, Indiana, have recovered $36,000 in a cryptocurrency scam involving Prateek Jain, a 33-year-old man from Kolkata, India. Jain faces charges of felony fraud and money laundering after allegedly convincing a Marion, Indiana resident to deposit funds into a bitcoin ATM as part of the scam. The case, initially reported to the Marion Police Department, was passed to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, which identified Jain as the suspect. Jain had previously traveled to the U.S. on a temporary visa in 2024 before returning to India, where he is currently located. An active arrest warrant with a $500,000 cash-only bond has been issued. Sheriff Del Garcia cautioned residents against online scams, saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”