68 Investors Duped Of ₹7 Crore; 6 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 ₹7.09 crore after promising high returns, officials said on Tuesday.

The fraud was committed over several years through multiple corporate shells, they said.

A vada pav vendor from Malad in Mumbai was seeking to buy an insurance policy in 2018 when an acquaintance introduced him to one of the accused, who was then running a share-broking company, a police official said.

The vendor initially deposited ₹5,000, followed by ₹3 lakh in the accused's company after being promised a 5% monthly return, totalling ₹1.05 lakh in interest over six months. Several others also invested money on similar promises.

When the victims visited the firm's office in Mumbai's Kandivali to collect the interest, the staff delayed the payout by 45 days and coerced them into signing affidavits, claiming the money was a personal loan to the accused, before shutting the branch, the official said.

The investors were then directed to the company's head office in Mumbai's Bhandup area, where they received cancelled cheques and online withdrawal receipts, but later got an email declaring the firm's operations suspended for six months, as per the police.

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

The vendor met the accused at Dombivli in Thane, where the latter assured him that to recover his locked investment of ₹5.37 lakh, he had to pay an additional ₹80,550 for a 22-month return plan, the official said.

The vendor paid the amount, but did not receive the promised payouts.

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

The vendor and other victims lodged a complaint with the Ramnagar police on Sunday, which revealed that 68 individuals had been duped of ₹7.09 crore, with individual amounts ranging from ₹14 lakh to ₹84 lakh, they said.

The police have registered a case under relevant legal provisions and are probing the matter.