A 55-year-old woman from Bandra, identified as Teresa, has fallen victim to a high-profile fraud syndicate that posed as chartered accountants to win her trust and execute a major financial scam. The gang allegedly obtained nine luxury motor vehicle loans in her name using forged documents, a fake email ID, and a fabricated address in Gujarat, causing a total fraud of ₹1.17 crore.
Based on the complaint filed by the victim, the Nirmal Nagar Police have registered an FIR against six accused: Rahul Girish Shah, Umesh alias Sandeep Gopale, Akash Musale, Deepak Kalwade, Viraj, and Paras Botadra.
According to the police, the fraudulent activity started in 2022 when Teresa’s nephew introduced her to Rahul Girish Shah. Claiming to be a chartered accountant, Rahul first offered to file her income tax returns, gaining her confidence. Over time, he manipulated this trust to execute the scam.
Rahul told her that he supplied vehicles to several major companies and proposed purchasing four new vehicles in her name. He promised that the vehicles would be rented out and that she would receive a monthly commission of ₹5,000 per vehicle. He assured her that he would handle all EMI payments; the loans would simply be in her name. Trusting him, Teresa sent her Aadhaar, PAN, and bank documents to him over WhatsApp.
Rahul, along with his accomplices—Umesh alias Sandeep Gopale, Akash Musale, Deepak Kalwade, and Viraj—later visited Teresa’s residence, had her sign multiple bank forms, and collected various documents.
Investigation revealed that the accused created a fake Aadhaar card, a forged rent agreement, falsified authorization letters with forged signatures, and a counterfeit email ID under Teresa’s name, all linked to a fake address in Vadodara, Gujarat. Using these fabricated documents, several banks financed vehicle loans in her name.
In January 2024, Teresa began receiving repeated calls from multiple banks, informing her that EMIs on the vehicle loans were overdue. Shocked, she realised she had no idea that loans for nine vehicles had been sanctioned in her name.
A bank official later shared the loan file with her, which contained the forged documents and the fake email ID. When she attempted to contact Rahul Shah, his phone was found switched off. Soon after, Akash Musale sent her the papers related to the nine vehicles—all of which were purchased from different showrooms. The fraudsters allegedly took delivery of the vehicles using forged signatures and fake email communication, and later sold them across Gujarat and Mumbai.
In one of the cases, a bank has also named Teresa as an accused, since the loans were technically in her name.
Police are now probing the wider network of the gang, the potential involvement of bank officials, and the methods used for large-scale document forgery and vehicle diversion.