By Suresh Sadagopan
Parthiv was feeling tired after the morning walk. He pulled the chair right under the fan, slumped to a comfortable position and closed his eyes. Selja came into the room and enquired if he was fine. Parthiv opened his eyes and nodded. Selja brought him a cup of tea along with some dosas. He was impassive.
When Selja put the snacks and chai in front of him, she found that he was taking his forty winks! She did not disturb him and put them on the dining table. She wanted to finish the bank work and stepped out, leaving Parthiv to rest for some time.
A truck passing by outside honked loudly. Parthiv woke up with a start and at first was disoriented. Then he saw the snacks and the tea which he ate with relish.
Selja opened the door with her key and came in. She smiled seeing Parthiv awake and having breakfast. Selja was an invaluable help to Parthiv, considering he was 84. She was his assistant who took good care of him, cooked for him, ensured he had his medicines, took him for his checkups, did all the chores, paid the bills, did the bank work – everything! Since she came to care for him 6 years back, Parthiv’s life has become very easy and smooth.
His wife had passed away 10 years back and his children were in Pune and Delhi. But thanks to Selja, Parthiv had settled into a comfortable rhythm in his pad at Powai, Mumbai.
The betrayal - The tranquil life was disturbed one day when he found a society bill about his property in Nasik. The society bill was in the name of Selja. Initially, he thought they had addressed it in her name as she was the one interacting with society. But he quickly understood that the house bill itself was in her name.
He confronted Selja, who tried to tell him that her name was there on the bill because she was interacting with them. When this did not convince Parthiv, she went on an emotional overdrive taking him on a guilt trip about how he was ungrateful and lacked trust, even though she had done so much for him. Parthiv let it go and went for a walk.
At that time, he talked to his son Arnav in Pune and told him what he found out and his suspicion of being defrauded. Arnav told him that they immediately needed to talk to the Manager & Secretary of both houses they owned – one in Nasik and another in Borivli, Mumbai. Arnav said he would talk to them.
Parthiv came back home, relaxed and was having his dinner. Arnav called and told him what he found. In both cases, the property has now been registered in Selja’s name! They had told Arnav that there was a gift deed through which this was done.
Parthiv was shell-shocked. He had made a will giving his property in Nasik and Pune to his son and daughter respectively. Though he had made a will, he has not been able to protect the properties. This was another shock to him.
Arnav said he along with his wife Shaili would be coming over the next day early morning.
The fraud gets established - When they did come the next day, Arnav went to the Society office to find out if the Powai house, where his father was living, was in his name or not. Fortunately, the Powai property had not been touched.
Now, Arnav confronted Selja. She was evasive at first. Then when Arnav mentioned that what she had done was a crime and he would report to the police, she started crying and told them about how she took care of Parthiv when his children had abandoned their aged father!
Arnav saw no point in continuing the conversation. He posed as if he got a call and went out. He went straight to the police station and wanted to file a FIR. The police wanted to meet Selja and find out for themselves. So, they came to Parthiv’s flat. On seeing the police, Selja broke down.
The confession - She told them what happened. She was the one doing all the work. She knew all about Parthiv’s investments and assets. She had gained Parthiv’s trust and was able to get signatures on papers she needed for withdrawing money, transferring money to her account or even gifting the properties to herself! Parthiv trusted her and never suspected foul play.
She had been able to transfer both properties at Nasik and Borivli to herself. She had liquidated FDs, which were earlier to the tune of Rs.75 Lakhs. It was just 14 Lakhs now. She had cleaned out many other investments as well.
Similarly, she had utilised money coming into the bank from his pension, interest payouts, etc., to live a luxurious life. Parthiv did not know. Every day, she travelled in her own SUV, funded with the money she was able to ferret out of him.
Convinced of her complicity, the police registered an FIR and in due course arrested Savita for fraud.
The conclusion - There are many seniors who are vulnerable to such fiendish plots. Apart from this, they also wrongly think that their assets are safe once they write a will. But if the assets get liquidated, sold or transferred before the will gets operational, the will itself is no protection. That is the point people need to understand.
Another important thing to understand is that one needs to be willing to do a bit of monitoring with respect to home and money. One especially needs to be very careful while signing papers, to be sure that it is for bonafide purposes.
It is important to trust people; but at the same time, one should also be alert, verify and ensure that things are on course. Parthiv’s case is a cautionary tale!
The author is the MD & Principal Officer at Ladder7 Wealth Planners and the author of the book “If God Was Your Financial Planner”.
(Disclaimer: Views expressed are the author’s own, and Outlook Money does not necessarily subscribe to them. Outlook Money shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.)
