He Styled Billionaire Celebrities by Day and Ran a Bitcoin Scam at Night
Celebrity hairstylist Jawed Habib is wanted in a multi-crore Bitcoin fraud case as India faces a spike in crypto-related scams and global thefts.
Indian police could not find celebrity hairstylist Jawed Habib when they executed a search warrant for him in $800,000 cryptocurrency fraud case affecting hundreds of investors.
Authorities accuse Habib and his son of promoting a fraudulent investment scheme that promised investors unusually high annual returns on investments in Bitcoin and Binance tokens.
Celebrity Hair Stylist Linked to Crypto Ponzi Scheme
Indian authorities escalated the investigation into a multi-crore cryptocurrency fraud targeting hairstylist Jawed Habib, his son Anos Habib, and an associate for a scam worth up to $800,000.
Police failed to find Habib at his residence on Wednesday after executing a search warrant.
Jawed Habib Receiving a Business Leadership Award In 2023
Authorities strongly indicate that the scheme’s core entity, Follicle Global Company (FLC), operated as a family business. This alleged crime is a high-yield investment fraud disguised as a crypto opportunity.
Apparently, the father-son duo utilized Habib’s powerful celebrity status to establish trust with investors. They allegedly lured between 100 and 400 people with the prospect of exorbitant 50% to 75% annual earnings.
These earnings were supposedly generated from investments in Bitcoin and BNB (promoted as Binance tokens) made through FLC.
As of this month, police have lodged over 30 First Information Reports against the Habibs and issued a lookout notice to prevent their flight from the country.
Crypto Crimes Sweep India
This high-profile case is part of a larger trend of recent major Bitcoin and crypto scams in India.
In August, Indian police convicted 14 people, including a former politician and police officer, for their involvement in a 200 Bitcoin extortion case dating back to 2018. All were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
In July, a major security breach occurred at India’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX. The hack resulted in the theft of over $230 million in digital assets.
The social engineering attack happened on a multi-signature wallet after attackers deceived the key holders into approving a malicious transaction.
Overall, these incidents in India reflect a broader global surge in crypto crime, with 2025 on track to be the most devastating year on record for stolen funds.
By mid-year, criminals have stolen over $2.17 billion globally. According to Chainalysis, this amount already surpasses the total lost in 2024.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Morgan Stanley raises AMD (AMD.US) target price to $550: 2027 server CPU growth expectation jumps from 70% to 100%
Morgan Stanley's latest research report indicates that, thanks to the strong performance of data centers—particularly the better-than-expected upward revision in the server CPU business—AMD (AMD.US) has successfully offset the weakness in the PC market.
Is the year-end rebound in U.S. stocks coming? Wall Street trading firms bet on a post-midterm election rally, with position clearing before the election becoming the core bullish argument.
Wall Street trading institutions are betting that the US stock market will rise following the midterm elections.
Arm Q2 fiscal quarter results exceed expectations, but guidance is not impressive; data center royalty income doubles｜Earnings Report Insights
Arm's revenue for the second fiscal quarter rose 27% year-on-year to $1.443 billion, and non-GAAP earnings per share grew 33% to $0.52, both exceeding market expectations. Licensing revenue surged 50%, data center royalties doubled, but overall royalty growth was only 8%, below expectations. The company forecasts median third-quarter revenue of $1.54 billion, slightly above the average analyst estimate of $1.53 billion but lower than some analysts' predictions of $1.7 billion. Arm's share price dropped about 4% in after-hours trading.
Crypto prices
More
