Navi Mumbai woman cheated of ₹93 lakh by man posing to be son of industrialist

The Navi Mumbai police are on the lookout for an accused who cheated a 46-year-old woman of ₹93 lakh by introducing himself as the son of a well-known businessman and owner of a tobacco company from Sangamner, a city in Ahmednagar district

The Navi Mumbai police are on the lookout for an accused who cheated a 46-year-old woman of ₹93 lakh by introducing himself as the son of a well-known businessman and owner of a tobacco company from Sangamner, a city in Ahmednagar district.

A 46-year-old woman from Sanpada in Navi Mumbai was cheated of ₹93 lakh. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The accused first befriended the victim via Facebook and then promised to be a partner with her in a chain of pub and restaurant businesses. The accused convinced her that she would be able to earn double the amount of what she invested in the business.

In 2019, the accused had befriended the complainant via Facebook and then met her in Sanpada. The accused introduced himself as the son of a known businessman from his first wife. He also said that he was working as an interior designer for a builder in Pune.

The complainant, who is the wife of a government official, and the accused developed friendship over the meeting and started talking over the phone as well.

The accused further told her that he ran a pub and restaurant in Pune and offered a lucrative business proposal by promising to pay her twice the amount she invested within two years. The complainant told her husband about the opportunity and the offer the accused had made for the investment.

After the woman’s husband showed interest in the deal, she paid the accused ₹1.5 lakh and asked him to sign a written agreement. However, the accused kept avoiding her by promising to sign the agreement after a few days. The complainant even then continued to give the accused money as well as her gold jewellery amounting to ₹93 lakh.

“During the pandemic, the lady asked for the money to be returned but citing loss in the business during the lockdown, he kept delaying and ignoring the lady. Later, he blocked her on social media and also blocked her calls. The lady became suspicious and went to Sangamner along with her husband to meet the industrialist. There, the couple realised that the accused was not his son and that they were conned, after which they approached us and registered a complaint. We are investigating the case and are yet to trace the accused,” an officer from Sanpada police station said.