Pune: Nineteen people, mostly ex-servicemen , have been duped of Rs72.75 lakh in an investment fraud between January 2023 and April, police said. The crime comes close on the heels of a similar investment con wherein 262 citizens, mostly ex-servicemen, were cheated of Rs26.
41 crore in the city. The Chandannagar police have registered a case against five people, including a woman, from Nashik, Mumbai and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The individuals claimed to be trading in cryptocurrencies through a Kharadi firm, which shut shop overnight after collecting investments from the 19 victims.
The firm in Kharadi had conducted workshops and promised the victims that their investments would be doubled in just 20 months. One of the victims (40), a retired army personnel who hails from Pangare village in Purandar tehsil, lodged a complaint in this regard. One of the suspects, hailing from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, is also a retired army personnel, police said.
He and the complainant came in contact through a common friend. The suspects told the victim and others about their company and investment plans. They invited the investors to participate in workshops conducted in Kharadi and Lonavla.
The fraudsters promised 10% returns per month on normal investment and double the invested amount if people bought cryptocurrency . The complainant told TOI that the suspects claimed the company would bring their own cryptocurrency and conducted an event regarding it in Goa. “After attending the workshops and learning about the plan, I decided to invest.
” He said, “Company officials gave me post-dated cheques, which I deposited in the bank — but it all bounced. The same happened with other investors and we all decided to check the company’s office in Kharadi. We found it locked and decided to approach the police.
” A case of cheating and criminal breach of trust has been registered against the company officials. EOW may take over Mundhwa case The Mundhwa police are yet to begin an investigation against the share traders and six others booked on the charge of duping 262 investors, mostly ex-servicemen, to the tune of Rs26.41 crore between 2020 and 24.
Senior inspector Nilkant Jagtap on Monday said, “We have clubbed all the complaint applications after a preliminary inquiry. We received six more complaint applications from investors after registering the case. We want to see if new suspects are involved.
A total of 268 investors have approached us.” Jagtap said the suspects have not been arrested because the offence relating to cheating is punishable up to seven years and notices will have to be sent to them to join police investigations. “We have submitted a report to the Pune police commissioner to transfer the case to the economic offence wing for action and it awaits sanction,” he added.
Recently, the Mundhwa police on Aug 2, 2024, booked a businessman and six others on the charge of duping around 262 investors. The fraud came to light after the share trading businessman, also an ex-serviceman, shut down his office on BT Kawade Road in Mundhwa and fled..
