68 Investors Allegedly Duped Of Rs 7.09 Crore, Six Directors Of Thane Firm Booked

Police have registered a case against six directors of a private investment firm in Maharashtra’s Thane district for allegedly cheating 68 investors of Rs 7.09 crore after promising high returns, officials said. The alleged fraud was carried out over several years through multiple corporate shells.

The case came to light after a vada pav vendor from Malad in Mumbai approached police. In 2018, while seeking to buy an insurance policy, an acquaintance introduced him to one of the accused, who was then running a share broking company.

The vendor initially deposited Rs 5,000 and later invested Rs 3 lakh after being promised a 5 per cent monthly return, amounting to Rs 1.05 lakh in interest over six months. Several others also allegedly invested money after receiving similar assurances.

When investors visited the company’s Kandivali office to collect their interest, staff allegedly delayed the payout by 45 days and coerced them into signing affidavits stating that the money was a personal loan to the accused. The branch was subsequently shut.

Investors were then directed to the company’s Bhandup head office, where they received cancelled cheques and online withdrawal receipts. They later received an email stating that the firm’s operations had been suspended for six months.

In May 2023, Bhandup police arrested the accused who was running the share broking company in connection with an investment fraud. He later secured bail and released a video message announcing a new corporate initiative.

The vendor later met the accused in Dombivli, where he was allegedly told that to recover his locked investment of Rs 5.37 lakh, he had to pay an additional Rs 80,550 for a 22 month return plan. The vendor paid the amount but did not receive the promised payouts.

When he and other victims approached the directors of the new corporate firm regarding their capital, they allegedly received evasive answers.

The vendor and other victims lodged a complaint with Ramnagar police on Sunday, which revealed that 68 individuals had allegedly been duped of Rs 7.09 crore. Individual amounts ranged from Rs 14 lakh to Rs 84 lakh, police said.