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Indian student jailed for real estate fraud in Australia
Pardeep has been sentenced to two years behind bars and will likely be deported at the end of his sentence.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Fri, 30, Jan 2026
- 00:57 EST
- 17
Representative image / Pexels
Pardeep, an Uber driver, has been sentenced to jail in Australia for impersonating the president of a Sydney law firm and tricking one of its clients into sending him more than $200,000.
Sentencing him to a maximum of two years in prison, the Liverpool Local Court convicted him of dishonestly obtaining property by deception and dealing with the proceeds of crime. The judge described the offence as a “calculated, deceptive and significant” fraud, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
In October 2024, a homebuyer contacted a Sydney real estate law firm and spoke to its principal. Pardeep, who was in Australia on a student visa, obtained the victim’s details, created a near-identical domain name and email address, impersonated the lawyer, set up a fake company and bank account, and tricked the victim into transferring $209,874 over several weeks.
ALSO READ: Courier in international elder fraud scheme sentenced after jury conviction in U.S.
A week after the payment, the victim spoke to the real lawyer, realised he had been scammed and discovered the money was gone.
Investigators traced the fraud to Pardeep but were able to recover only $900.
Pardeep, who lived with his partner in Granville in Sydney’s west and had no other family in Australia, will most likely be deported from the country upon his release, the court heard.
He was also directed to repay $100,000 in compensation, the maximum amount permitted to be ordered in the Local Court.
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