Main accused in 91 cr Q Phone App fraud arrested

THANE: Thane police arrest Parag Ashok Kumar Shah, a key suspect in the ₹91-crore Q Phone App fraud, which duped 120 investors with false promises.

THANE: In a major breakthrough in the ₹91-crore ‘Q Phone App’ fraud, the Thane police have arrested Parag Ashok Kumar Shah, one of the main accused in the case. After months of ducking law enforcers, Shah was arrested from Narayangaon near Pune on Wednesday, and has been remanded to police custody till June 11. He is the third individual to be arrested in the case.

Main accused in 91 cr Q Phone App fraud arrested

The elaborate Ponzi scam, which defrauded 120 investors with promises of high returns through a fake digital investment model, was perpetrated under the banner of a company named ‘Q Phone App’. Investors were led to believe that Q Phone App developed applications for Google. They were promised substantial returns in US dollars through revenue generated from digital advertisements.

The fraud took place between May 2020 and January 2024, and operated across many states. The case was registered at Vartak Nagar police station in Thane under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant or banker), 420 (cheating), 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections of the Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors (MPID) Act.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Thane, which is investigating the case, suspects that the number of victims and the total defrauded sum will rise as more people come forward.

A senior police officer said Parag Ashok Kumar Shah was a small businessman from Narayangaon. He met some businessmen from Gujarat and they committed the crime together. “The group took money in cash and used it for personal gain,” he said.