A professor from METU was scammed by saying "We are from MIT": The loss is 35 million lira.

After retiring from the Middle East Technical University, Prof. Dr. Nihad Peynircioğlu, who settled in Bozcaada with his wife, was called on July 24 by a person who introduced himself as a MIT personnel, stating that money had been transferred from their bank accounts to accounts linked to terrorism and asked them to report all their assets in the bank and at home. Later, another person who introduced himself as a staff member of the Istanbul Police Department's private office sent fake receipts to Prof. Dr. Peynircioğlu, showing that money had been transferred from his account to organization members.

FILED A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

Prof. Dr. Peynircioğlu, who stated that he panicked, withdrew his 15 million TL from the bank and handed it over to a person in Çanakkale Güzelyalı. He also delivered 20 million TL from a different account to a person in the İntepe region. After explaining the situation to his daughter, who is a lawyer, Prof. Dr. Peynircioğlu realized he had been defrauded and filed a criminal complaint with the Çanakkale Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

11 SUSPECTS DETAINED

In the investigation carried out by the police upon the prosecutor's instruction, it was determined that the suspects who defrauded Prof. Dr. Peynircioğlu were Mahmut K., who lives in the Akçakale district of Şanlıurfa, along with his brothers Abdülkadir K., Kasım K., Halil E., İbrahim Halil A., and Mehmet Y., who were also preparing to defraud another professor. The suspects were placed under surveillance. After months of monitoring, simultaneous operations were conducted against the suspects primarily in Şanlıurfa, as well as in Ankara, Istanbul, and Diyarbakır. A total of 11 suspects, including Mahmut K., his brothers Abdülkadir K., Kasım K., Halil E., İbrahim Halil A., and Mehmet Y., were detained.

'"THEY READ ATATÜRK'S ADDRESS TO THE YOUTH AND CRIED"

In his statement to the police, Prof. Dr. Peynircioğlu said that the first call from the suspects came on July 24, stating, "He introduced himself as someone from MIT. He sent pictures of our IDs with different photos. Then he shared receipts sent in my and my wife's name from a private bank with us and then immediately deleted them. My and my wife's names were on the receipts. They said, 'Money has been transferred from your accounts to the terrorist organization FETÖ.' Later, they made us delete these images. They showed us videos of defrauded people and said, 'You could also be a victim like these people.' They started calling us every two hours. They read Atatürk's Address to the Youth and cried. They said, 'This is a debt to the homeland.' They told us they were conducting an operation, and we believed them. They asked for our e-government passwords. We trusted them and gave them. They introduced themselves as 'Zafer Aktaş, Selami Yıldız, İlyas Kayış, Atalar Yıldırım.' They said our accounts were secured and told us to withdraw our money and hand it over. Initially, on August 5, we delivered 409,509 dollars, on August 12, 70,000 dollars, 250,000 euros, 74,000 pounds, and on September 6, 174,587 dollars to a bespectacled man, first in Güzelyalı, then in İntepe, and finally in Ezine. For a while, the calls stopped. They said, 'We are going on an operation abroad.' Then communication was completely cut off. Realizing we had been defrauded, we told our daughter," he said.

THEY WERE ARRESTED

After their procedures at the police station, 11 suspects were referred to the courthouse. Among the suspects, Mahmut K., his brothers Abdülkadir K., Kasım K., Halil E., İbrahim Halil A., and Mehmet Y. were arrested. The other 5 suspects were released under judicial control.