67-Year-Old Man Who Swindled About 18 Women For Four Years Arrested Before Weddings

A 67-year-old man who allegedly passed himself as a doctor was arrested by authorities for reportedly swindling at least 18 women over four years.

The man was identified as Bibhu Prakash Swain who used the marriage website to prey on career-driven women before getting hitched to professionals across 10 states in India, authorities said.

Swain charmed his way into the hearts of professors, lawyers, medics and also a paramilitary officer, finding a way to win their trust.

The 67-year-old alleged he worked for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and had several fake IDs and appointment letters that were part of his web of lies.

“His only intention was to grab their money and also have conjugal relations with them," Sanjeev Satpathy, the assistant commissioner of police at Odisha Police, told Vice World News. "He was always very persuasive and only targeted successful single, widowed or divorced women in their late 40s."

Authorities have been monitoring the moves of Swain for the last eight months. The swindler allegedly conned women out of as much as $30,780.

As of this writing, more than 100 women have been contacted by authorities who discussed marriage with Swain.

One of them, known only as Sanjana, said she married Swain before moving to the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar with him in 2018.

She later discovered that everything was a scam when she was tipped off by a domestic helper who told her he was already married and later found documents that revealed his other wives.

The same woman also discovered on the phone of Swain that he had several other women saved in the address book, some named “Wife 1” and “Wife 2.”

Sanjana filed a police report in May last year, which was followed by another victim report.

“We have three women coming today to give their testimonies, and I hope with the support we are giving the women, they continue to come forward,” according to authorities who arrested Swain last Feb. 14.