Man who ran fake finance company in Chembur arrested

The accused introduced them to various investment schemes, including one ‘World cup special monthly investment scheme’ in which a ₹40 lakh investment for 15 months will give investors ₹8 lakh returns beginning from the fourth month

MUMBAI: The police on Sunday arrested a Chembur resident who allegedly ran Access Fin Services, a fake finance company, to lure gullible people into investing in a fake scheme by promising them 10 to 20% returns. The accused, Praveen Obhan, had duped senior citizens who retired from government departments like the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the police department by convincing them to invest their entire life’s savings, said a police officer.

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The case that led to his arrest was based on a complaint from one of his victims, Neelam Chiplunkar, a Chembur resident. Chiplunkar and her family are involved in the real estate business. In her complaint, she said a mutual friend introduced her and her husband to Obhan’s firm, which they visited in July.

Obhan introduced them to various investment schemes, including one ‘World cup special monthly investment scheme’ in which a ₹40 lakh investment for 15 months will give investors ₹8 lakh returns beginning from the fourth month. At the end of a year, investors would be rewarded with ₹96 lakh. Lured by this, the complainant said she invested ₹40 lakh with Obhan’s firm. He also gave a pamphlet of this scheme to the complainant so she could promote it, said a police officer.

“She claims to have given him ₹40 lakh after she was promised high interest, but she neither got any interest nor her principal amount,” said Navnath Dhawale, deputy commissioner of police (zone 6). However, in January this year, the accused gave her ₹4 lakh as returns and asked to further invest this in the ‘Money bond daily scheme’ (another fake scheme). He added that several people have submitted written complaints to the Govandi police in the past four to five days, making the alleged defrauded amount go up to around ₹2 crore.

The accused was produced before the court on Monday and remanded to police custody till May 23.