Navi Mumbai: Woman Duped of Rs 2.97 Crore in Investment Scam; 9 Accused Booked

In a shocking case of financial fraud, a 42-year-old housewife from Navi Mumbai was allegedly duped of Rs 2.97 crore by nine individuals who lured her with promises of high returns on investments.

The accused are suspected to have more people, said police. Nasreen Rauf Patel, 42, a housewife from Navi Mumbai, fell victim to the alleged fraud. According to police, the accused lured her with a high return on investments.

The accused include a total of nine people identified as Umesh Yadav, Kunal Deora, Vishal Ravani, Kunjalben Patel, Chanchal Vishal Ravani, Keshma Yadav, Ashraf Bhagwan, Umesh Patel and Archana Deora.

According to police, the incident took place between January 2021 and January 2024. “They were operating the scam from an ice cream parlor and an office called Go Wise Enterprises in Sanpada,” said an official from Turbhe police station.

The accused lured the victim to invest in various schemes with the promise of high returns. As a result, the victim, along with other persons, invested around Rs. 2,97,28,000. The money was allegedly invested by the accused in stock markets and portrayed as genuine income, which also included acquisition of movable and immovable properties. However, the accused did not give any returns to the victims or return the invested money.

Upon realizing the cheating, Patel approached the police and lodged a complaint. The Sanpada police registered a case on Sunday under sections 406, 409, 420, 120B and 34 of the IPC and relevant section of Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978, Banning of Unregistered Deposit Schemes Act 2019 and Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999.

The police have launched an investigation. However, no one has been arrested, confirmed Sanpada police station. No arrests have been made yet in connection with the crime.