Private bank manager dupes senior citizen of ₹75 lakh, flees

MUMBAI: A bank wealth manager allegedly cheated a senior citizen of ₹75 lakh by promising 12% returns on stock investments, then vanished.

MUMBAI: The wealth manager of a well-known bank allegedly cheated a senior citizen of ₹75 lakh by promising him 12% returns on share market investments. A case of embezzlement and fraud was registered against the manager, Jai Mukesh Mehta, who the police said fled before the case was registered.

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The complainant, Yogesh Purushottam Kaushal, 60, lives with his family in the JVPD Scheme in Juhu. In October 2024, he retired from a private company in Lower Parel. While working at the company as its president, Kaushal’s salary was deposited into a salary account at a private bank where Mehta worked as a wealth manager, which gave the latter complete access to information about Kaushal’s bank account. Kaushal often contacted Mehta for bank-related queries as they had known each other for the past 10 years and developed a close friendship, said a police officer from Juhu police station.

Police said Mehta advised Kaushal to him to invest in the stock market after retirement, claiming that a team working in the stock market could help him earn around 12% returns on investments. As bank deposits offered interest only up to 8% and fixed deposits till 6%, Kaushal was convinced that investing in the stock market was a better option post-retirement.

“Trusting Mehta, Kaushal sent him ₹30 lakh for investing in the stock market in August 2023 without any verification. In September 2023, Mehta gave him returns of ₹1.40 lakh on this investment. This made Kaushal trust him,” said the police officer.

Upon Mehta’s persuasion to invest a higher amount, Kaushal gave him an additional ₹45 lakh in September 2024, which included the remaining sum in his bank account and fixed deposits.

This time, by October 2024, Kaushal received no returns. He told the police that Mehta said there was a delay in transferring the money due to the market downturn and assured Kaushal that he would get his money back with interest. Not only that, but he also gave Kaushal an affidavit promising the same.

After a few months, Kaushal was yet to receive any money, so he called up Mehta. Mehta had become unreachable and was not responding to his emails either, said police. When Kaushal’s son went to Mehta’s residence in Mira Road two days ago and saw a lock on his house door, Kaushal realized that he had been cheated. He approached the Juhu police and filed a complaint.

“We have registered a case of fraud, including misappropriation, against Mehta on Tuesday and have launched a special operation to trace him,” said the officer.