Just Like Docu-Series Wedding.Con, Scam Artist Defrauds Women Looking For Love And Marriage (Image credit: YouTube)
The five-part true-crime docu-series, Wedding.con, was premiered on Amazon Prime Video in December 2023. Directed by filmmaker Tanuja Chandra, Wedding.con focused on the defrauded victims, as five women shared their personal stories of heartbreak after being duped by a man, they thought to spend the rest of their lives with. Just like the series, police in Kalyan nabbed a fraudster who had earlier scammed 25 women. The accused Feroze Shaikh had six FIRs filed against him.
Real-life scam artist defrauds women
The 48-year-old man, Feroze Shaikh lured women, mainly divorcees, with fake profiles on matrimonial websites. He would pretend to be wealthy and have jobs like a pilot or a banker. Once a meeting was arranged, the accused would make excuses and steal their valuables including jewellery, mobile phones, ATM cards, money and more. Most of women he targeted were in their late 30s or early 40s.
Originally from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, Feroze recently resided in Belapur, Navi Mumbai with another woman. Six FIRs have been filed against Firoz; two in Pune and four in Mumbai. The accused served six years in prison after he was first arrested in 2016.
He was caught this week after a successful sting operation executed by the Kalyan Police. A Nalasopara woman in her late 30s filed a complaint against him on July 23. Authorities recovered credit and debit cards, mobile phones, jewellery, a car, and a MacBook from him.
About the docu-series Wedding.con
The official synopsis of the Amazon Prime Video series states that the show is “about five women who seek to fulfill a universal dream – Marriage. However, in their search for the perfect life-partner, they end up getting exploited financially and emotionally by conmen with fake identities, posing as suitable grooms on popular online platforms.”
The Times Now review of the series stated, “When a scamster steals a woman’s heart, then her money, he robs her of her self-worth. This is the feeling I got as I watched Sneha, Priyanka, Sandhya, Veena and Nithya. Some of these women spoke directly to us. Others chose to not show their faces. Their story of crushed trust never ceases to move us, as we watch these women share their hurt and humiliation in the hope that another woman would not have to go through the same.”
