First arrest made in cheating case involving fake IB officer

Prabhakar Shetty, a 70-year-old Goregaon resident, was picked up from Udupi district in Karnataka by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police

MUMBAI: An arrest has been made in a case where a man impersonating an officer from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had cheated around 15 persons of ₹17 crore. Prabhakar Shetty, a 70-year-old Goregaon resident, was picked up from Udupi district in Karnataka by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police.

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Shetty was an accomplice of the main accused, Rupesh Chaudhary, a resident of Nashik. Chaudhary died on July 18, before the complainant approached the police.

Chaudhary was a conman who posed as an IB officer, promising his victims apartments at cheap rates. He claimed he knew an IAS officer posted with the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and could swing deals for them.

Chaudhary indeed had friends in high places, including the government, and deceived his victims for two and a half years. He had allegedly promised several persons apartments in towers in Mahalaxmi, Worli, Dadar, Parel and Walkeshwar, in MHADA, the state housing agency.

“As Chaudhary’s accomplice, Shetty used to convince the victims that Chaudhary was a real IB officer. He used to also convince them that forged documents relating to these flats were genuine,” said an EOW officer. The agency has also found the proceeds of crime in bank accounts in Shetty’s name.

The case came to light when Mohammad Aslam Qureshi, 45, a hotelier, approached the police, saying he had been cheated. He said he had been scouting for investment opportunities and was introduced to Chaudhary in January 2023. Posing as a senior IB officer, Chaudhary told Qureshi he could help him with lucrative deals in prestigious properties under MHADA.

As part of the deception, Chaudhary appointed bodyguards, used a vehicle with a beacon, posed in photographs with senior police officers and ministers, carried a firearm and even claimed to have enrolled at the Nashik Police Training Academy.

Qureshi had got several of his friends to invest in Chaudhary’s alleged properties but it was more than two years before he sensed something was amiss. In one of his many confidence-building moves, Chaudhary helped Qureshi’s uncle recover money he had parked with friends, said a police officer.

When none of the promised property deals materialised, Qureshi approached the police. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police registered a case against Rupesh Chaudhary; his wife Nicky Chaudhary; Prabhakar Shetty, now arrested; and another alleged accomplice, Rolland Karkada, a resident of Dahisar, on November 12.

Chaudhary has been posthumously charged along with the three others, for impersonation, cheating and forgery, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.