Hyberabad cyber crime police on Wednesday arrested two men for attempting to extort a massive sum from pharma giant Hetero Group by posing as US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) officials.
The accused, identified as Gadi Manikanta and Yendapalli Jessy Sudarshan, sent a series of threatening emails demanding $250 million (around Rs 2,213 crore). They created fake email IDs, drafted convincing regulatory alerts, and impersonated FDA officers to intimidate the company into paying the ransom.
A senior Cyberabad police officer revealed that the scam originated from a disgruntled former employee aiming to malign Hetero. The emails were sophisticated enough to trigger a real FDA inspection, posing reputational and regulatory risks for the company abroad.
Hetero officials reported the emails after a senior employee received repeated threats in August, claiming the sender had access to sensitive internal documents and could influence FDA decisions. The company denied all allegations, stating the campaign was purely for extortion.
Police tracked the duo using digital forensics and device tracing. Both were arrested after evidence confirmed their involvement in the conspiracy.
Between November 12–18, Cyberabad police detected 11 cyber crime cases and arrested 18 suspects across multiple states, 15 of whom were involved in trading-related scams. Authorities also seized 17 mobile phones and four SIM cards.
In a significant relief to victims, Cyberabad police secured 200 refund orders in 53 cases, enabling the return of Rs 63,23,971 to affected individuals. Officials noted that coordinated investigations and faster cross-unit collaboration are helping recover defrauded funds.
