Police Arrest GoFood Fictitious Order Suspect In East Java, Perpetrators Raup Untung Rp2.2 Billion

The police showed evidence confiscated from a suspect in the crime of manipulating data on fictitious food purchases using the Gojek application. BETWEEN/HO-Bidhumas Polda East Java

The East Java Regional Police's Cyber Team of the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation (Ditreskrimsus) arrested two suspects in the crime of manipulating fictitious food purchase transaction data using the Gojek application.

Wadirreskrimsus Polda Jatim AKBP Arman said the two suspects were Humlay Amtsala (a resident of Pondok Trosobo Indah, Taman District) and Balik Setiono Wiryanto (a resident of Jogosatru, Sukodono District, Sidoarjo).

"Both of them were arrested by the Cyber Team of the Ditreskrimsus Polda East Java for manipulating transaction data on fictitious food purchases using the GoFood application from October 2022 to August 2023," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, September 7.

The two suspects were reported by PT Goto Gojek Tokopedia, Tbk. Before being reported, initially the company monitored and found suspicious transactions through the GoFood application in the Trosobo Road area, Sidoarjo.

From October 2022 to August 2023, said Arman, there were at least hundreds of thousands of transactions using dozens of fictitious merchant accounts using payments through the accounts of the two suspects separately.

"Approximately 10 months this has made various fictitious accounts up to 95 fictitious accounts, merchants, and made 107,660 transactions for the purchase of fictitious foods with a profit of Rp. 2.2 billion," he said.

The mode is by making and buying a restaurant name (mechant fictitious) and making acustomerfictitious, then ordering food using a user-fictitiouscusomerficitive which is all managed by the two suspects.

"Technically, the suspects HA and BSW used a fictitious account earlier, as if ordering food so that money came in and out remains with the suspect. They expect a bonus from PT Goto Gojek Tokopedia, which is around 20 percent of the bonus," he added.

The practices carried out by the suspects are almost daily by involving the original online driver.

The driver was not harmed because every time an order comes in, the driver will get points from the Gojek application system.

As a result of the police investigation, the two suspects who had been online motorcycle taxi drivers received an account by buying through a Facebook group for Rp600 thousand Rp800 thousand for a restaurant account partnering with the company.

Meanwhile, Gojek Surabaya's District Head, Josua Jimmy, emphasized that every fraud committed by his partners would be followed up firmly to create a healthy ecosystem for all partners.

"We make sure our merchant partners have priorities. We will continue to innovate technologically to ensure that every fraud like this can always be observed and can be followed up," he said.

From the suspects, the police confiscated 7 units of cellphones used as operational means and Rp2 million in cash.

Article 35 in conjunction with Article 51 paragraph (1) of Law Number 19 of 2016 concerning Amendments to Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions with a maximum imprisonment of 12 years and a maximum fine of IDR 12 billion.