7 booked for ₹6.67-crore loan fraud at Mathadi workers’ credit society

According to police, the accused, including office-bearers of the society, a branch manager, a clerk, a union functionary and labour supervisors used forged documents and fake signatures to create bogus accounts

NAVI MUMBAI: A ₹6.67-crore fraud at a cooperative credit society catering to Mathadi workers came to light after workers began receiving EMI notices for loans they said they had never taken. The APMC police have booked seven people for allegedly opening fake memberships and sanctioning loans in workers’ names without their knowledge.

7 booked for ₹6.67-crore loan fraud at Mathadi workers’ credit society

According to police, the accused, including office-bearers of the society, a branch manager, a clerk, a union functionary and labour supervisors used forged documents and fake signatures to create bogus accounts. They then allegedly prepared fraudulent loan applications in the names of Mathadi workers without their knowledge, secured approvals on fabricated records and diverted about ₹6.67 crore.

Police said around 30 Mathadi workers were shown as borrowers even though they had neither applied for nor authorised the loans.

The FIR was lodged by the APMC police on a complaint filed by Akash Dnyaneshwar Jagtap, a 29-year-old Mathadi worker from Kalamboli. The alleged fraud took place at the Turbhe-Vashi branch, located in the APMC Market complex.

The fraud surfaced after workers started receiving notices demanding repayment of equated monthly instalments (EMIs). Several of them approached the police, leading to the registration of the case.

Among those booked are the society’s chairman, vice-chairman, chief manager and other office-bearers, besides the Turbhe-Vashi branch manager, a clerk and a transport union divisional secretary.

“The matter came to notice when the victims started receiving notices for payment of EMIs against the loan amounts. A complaint was filed and the matter is under investigation,” said Vishal Hire, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

He further added that police would conduct a forensic examination of the society’s records. The office was allegedly found locked on Monday evening when police visited after registering the FIR.