Man cheated of ₹2.4 crores by fraud who made away with 11 new cars

A man posing as a CA cheated a Lalbaug resident of ₹2.4 crore in a fake car rental scheme involving 11 cars from August 2023 to February 2024.

MUMBAI: A man posing as a charted accounted (CA) was booked on Monday for cheating for allegedly cheating a 40-year-old Lalbaug resident with a lucrative investment opportunity requiring him to purchase 11 cars. The victim was cheated to the tune of ₹2.4 crore in the fraud that took place from August 2023 to February 2024.

Man cheated of ₹2.4 crores by fraud who made away with 11 new cars

The complainant, Suhas Mestri, works in a public charitable trust in Colaba. He was looking for a stable investment opportunity in 2023 when his friend, Harshal Gangurde, introduced him to the accused, Rahul Shah, who claimed to be a CA.

Shah suggested that Mestri buy cars and rent them out to various diplomats and leaders visiting the city from New Delhi. These visitors stayed in hotels that he claimed to have contacts with, and the hotels were willing to pay good rentals for cars, said an officer from the Kalachowki police station.

Mestri and Gangurde then met the accused in a hotel in Bandra Kurla Complex, where he explained the scheme. “Shah told him to purchase cars on loan and give it to him to earn good profits,” said the officer. Seeing Mestri’s interest, Shah praised his good CIBIL score and asked him to initiate the purchase of 11 cars in his name on EMIs. He even sent bank employees to the complainant’s house to collect his signature. When it came to fulfilling the down payment, on the fraud’s advice, he took a personal loan, said the officer. In total, Shah purchased 11 cars and two laptops and had promised to pay the monthly rent and EMIs for the cars but failed. A few months later, Mestri noticed the EMIs were unpaid and his calls to Shah went unanswered. He began paying the EMIs for 11 cars and two laptops. Not knowing where his cars were or if he would ever be able to recover them, he filed a complaint with the Kalachowki police station.

“We suspect Shah is not a CA. We have registered an offence and are investigating it,” said the police officer.