Indian immigrant Balram Tammineni charged over alleged online phishing scam

Balram Tammineni came to start a new life in Australia. Police allege he turned on the country that welcomed him, launching an online scam that sought to steal money from everyday Aussies.

Indian immigrant Balram Tammineni charged over alleged online phishing scam which ruined a couple's wedding. Pictures: Supplied

An engaged couple planning their dream country wedding lost thousands of dollars to an elaborate online phishing scam allegedly run by an Indian immigrant who came to Australia on a bridging visa, a court has heard.

Balram Tammineni, 32, had hopes of starting a new life when he arrived in Australia in February 2019, but police allege he turned on the country that opened its borders to him less than two years later, launching a sophisticated online scam that sought to steal money from everyday Aussies.

Among those caught up in the alleged scam was a couple from Dubbo, who were defrauded of $12,000 that was meant for Orange’s famed Racine Restaurant, which had been hired by the duo to cater their wedding.

Instead, police allege an unknown person intercepted emails between the restaurant and the couple and, posing as a Racine employee, advised that the restaurant’s usual bank account was down and they should deposit the funds into an alternative account.

The pair transferred the money, unaware they had been scammed.

A Dubbo couple was left $12,000 out of pocket after falling victim to an internet scam. Police allege Balram Tammineni was involved in carrying out the fraud.

According to documents tendered to the NSW Supreme Court, the new account was fraudulent, referred to by police as a “pass-through” account.

The court heard the money was immediately taken out of the pass-through account and allegedly filtered through a number of cryptocurrency accounts belonging to Tammineni.

Meanwhile, a forensic analysis of Tammineni’s financial position between 2020 and 2023 revealed his work as a part-time DiDi delivery driver had netted him paltry incomes of less than $24,000 a year.

However, police allege activity on his bank accounts showed transactions amounting to more than $1.1m in the same time period, including $354,000 in cash deposits.

“During the 2.5 year period, the accused received money into his account which could not be explained based upon the wages that he received,” police said in documents tendered to the court.

“Given that the received funds are well out of proportion to his regular wages and income, they are reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime.”

Justice Desmond Fagan (pictured) agreed to amend Tammineni’s bail conditions. Picture: Supplied

Police allege Tammineni’s electronic footprint was traced to three further internet-based frauds, including two cases where unknown persons posed as representatives from reputable business over the phone.

The court heard in one case, the speaker pretended to be a representative from PayPal and talked the alleged victim into allowing him remote access to his computer.

The speaker then drained the man’s bank accounts of $46,500, police said.

It is alleged police traced some of that money to cryptocurrency accounts belonging to Tammineni.

An investigation by NSW detectives led to Tammineni’s arrest in February last year.

He was hit with dozens of charges of dealing with proceeds of crime and remanded in custody for two months before being granted strict bail in the NSW Supreme Court.

Tammineni applied to the same court earlier this month to relax his bail, including removing a condition that prevented him from using an internet-enabled smartphone.

His lawyer told the court that Tammineni needed to use the internet to access and review the police brief of evidence against him, as well as communicate with his legal team and look up work rosters.

Justice Desmond Fagan agreed to amend the bail conditions, despite objections by prosecutors, who argued there was an increased risk of Tammineni committing further fraud offences if he was allowed access to a smartphone.

Tammineni is yet to enter a plea to the charges, with the case set to return to court early next year.