Duo booked for defrauding 150 investors of ₹10 cr in moringa business scheme

A ₹10 crore scam involving moringa powder has been uncovered in Mumbai, cheating over 150 investors. Two accused have been booked by police.

MUMBAI: At a time where being health conscious is a la mode, a popular superfood, moringa powder, has found itself at the centre of a ₹10 crore scam. The police have booked two people and their companies for allegedly cheating over 150 investors through a bogus scheme linked to a moringa power business.

Duo booked for defrauding 150 investors of ₹10 cr in moringa business scheme

According to the Shivaji Park police, the accused duo claimed they were involved in the cultivation and export of moringa powder and sought investments for the venture. Made from the dried leaves of the drumstick tree, the green powder is known to be full of vitamins, antioxidants, and protein. The accused allegedly promised investors returns of ₹12 lakh on an investment of ₹5 lakh over a five-year period.

The police identified the accused as Sachin Fadtare, Nikhil Shelar, and their companies as Neogreen Ventures Private Limited and MS Neogreen Agriculture LLP. The duo had even set up an office at Kohinoor Square in the Shivaji Park area, close to the police station.

The superfood scam came to light when one of the duped investors, Aarti Thackeray, a Sion resident, finally approached the police recently. Thackeray told the police that in December 2022, Rahul Joshi, a family friend and sales manager at Neogreen Ventures Private Limited informed her about an investment scheme offered by the company.

“From January 2023 to July 2023, the families received monthly payments,” said the police officer. However, Fadtare later began defaulting on the payments and although Thackeray managed to recover a small portion of her investment from him, he later told her that they would return her money only in 2026.

When Thackeray probed into the matter, she found out that no such investment scheme existed and that the accused had allegedly cheated more than 150 people of over ₹10 crores, the police said.

“We have registered a case under sections 316 (criminal breach of trust), 318 (cheating) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and relevant sections of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019,” said the police officer, adding that the case has been transferred to Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police.