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A prominent Turkish entrepreneur has been defrauded of more than ₺500 million ($12.56 million) by a man who posed as a senior agent of Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT). The accused, Harun Sener, is currently in custody, facing charges including armed extortion, domestic abuse, and systematic fraud.
The victim, Seher Sener, owns one of Türkiye’s leading wire mesh manufacturing firms in the OSTIM industrial zone in Ankara. For five years, she says she was manipulated into marriage and gradually stripped of her personal and corporate wealth by a man who convinced her he was operating under top-secret state orders.
Harun Sener first reappeared in her life in 2017, introducing himself as a covert MIT officer who had served time in the infamous Ergenekon case and had since returned to duty. Claiming to work abroad for national security missions, he gained Sener’s trust—and in 2019, her hand in marriage.
He soon began requesting money “for operations,” including ₺10 million in one instance, as well as hundreds of gold coins, jewelry, and multiple vehicles. Assets transferred or lost include 500 full gold coins, over 200 smaller items of jewelry, and luxury company cars.
According to court filings, Sener’s tactics went far beyond financial deception. He allegedly threatened her with weapons, described killings to intimidate her, and once forced her on a wild boar hunt, assaulting her during the trip. Though they were legally married, she says they lived together only for a few months.
He also allegedly sold her BMW, seized a Volkswagen Caravelle for “official use,” and registered it under his ex-wife’s brother’s name. Company vehicles were also reportedly taken under duress.
A court imposed a six-month restraining order, and Sener has already been convicted of abuse against her children. He remains in jail pending trial in an unrelated armed robbery case in Istanbul.
His son, Ismail Taha Sener, is also named in the case but is currently on the run. Prosecutors allege the father-son duo targeted individuals involved in prior financial crime investigations.
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