Six directors booked for allegedly cheating 68 investors of Rs 7.09 crore in Thane
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 by promising high returns, officials said on Tuesday.
The alleged fraud was carried out over several years through multiple corporate entities, police said.
The case came to light after a vada pav vendor from Mumbai’s Malad approached the Ramnagar police. He told investigators that an acquaintance had introduced him in 2018 to one of the accused, who was then running a share-broking company.
The vendor initially invested Rs 5,000 and later deposited Rs 3 lakh after being promised a monthly return of 5 per cent. Several other people also invested money on similar assurances.
When investors visited the company’s Kandivali office to collect their returns, staff allegedly delayed the payments and pressured them to sign affidavits stating that the money was a personal loan to the accused. The branch was later shut, police said.
The investors were directed to the company’s head office in Bhandup, where they were given cancelled cheques and online withdrawal receipts. They later received an email saying the company’s operations had been suspended for six months.
In May 2023, the Bhandup police arrested the accused who ran the share-broking firm in connection with an investment fraud. He later secured bail and released a video announcing a new corporate initiative, according to police.
The vendor subsequently met him in Dombivli and was allegedly told that he would have to pay Rs 80,550 under a 22-month return plan to recover his locked investment of Rs 5.37 lakh.
The vendor made the payment but did not receive the promised returns.
When he and other investors approached the directors of the new firm, including the accused, seeking repayment of their principal, they allegedly received evasive responses.
The complaint lodged on Sunday revealed that 68 people had allegedly been cheated of Rs 7.09 crore. The individual amounts involved ranged from Rs 14 lakh to Rs 84 lakh, police said.
A case has been registered under relevant legal provisions and further investigation is underway.
