Man dupes 12 investors of ₹1.60 crore on promise of hefty returns

Investment consultant booked for duping 12 investors of ₹1.60 crore in Mumbai by promising monthly returns of 15% to 20%. Accused is on the run.

Mumbai: An investment consultant was booked recently for allegedly duping 12 investors of ₹1.60 crore over the period of the last six months after luring them with returns of 15% to 20% every month.

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According to the police, the accused, identified as Rakesh Kumar Sharma, gave certain returns to the victims to gain their trust and later disappeared. The complainant, Vaibhav Thakur, who lives in the Chunabhatti area along with his family, approached the police on August 16.

“Thakur claimed that he met Sharma in November 2021 as the latter worked in his brother’s firm in Navi Mumbai. Sharma looked after the registration work and crypto trading,” an officer from Chunabhatti police station said. “Sharma claimed that he was an expert in the share market as well as crypto trading and advised the victim to invest in the market. He promised 15% to 20% profit every month.”

The officer added that Thakur then started contacting his relatives and friends convincing them to invest in the share market and crypto trading. “Thakur paid ₹35 lakh in total to invest in the share market and his wife paid ₹18 lakh. The victim spoke to the accused on July 27 when Sharma promised him that he would be giving his entire profit amount very soon,” the officer said.

“There are in all 12 investors, including Thakur and his wife, who were duped. After Thakur’s complaint, we verified the facts and recorded his statement along with a few other investors and registered a case of cheating against Sharma. We have launched a manhunt for Sharma,” senior inspector Anil Desai, Chunabhatti police station, said.