A 72-year-old man from Mumbai has reportedly lost ₹35 crore after allegedly falling to a long-running trading scam. Bharat Harakchand Shah, who lives in Matunga West, claims that a brokerage firm, carried out unauthorised trading using his wife’s account over a period of four years.
Shah runs a modest guest house for cancer patients in Parel with his wife. He inherited a stock portfolio following his father’s death in 1984. The couple, however, had little knowledge of the stock market and had never actively traded their shares, as per a report by NDTV.
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The alleged fraud began in 2020, after Shah, on a friend’s recommendation, opened Demat and trading accounts for himself and his wife. They also transferred their inherited shares to the company.
Initially, the brokerage maintained regular contact with Shah, making assurances that no extra investment was needed and that their shares would be safely used as collateral for trading. The company assigned two employees, Akshay Baria and Karan Siroya, as “personal guides” to manage Shah’s portfolio. Over time, the pair gained full control of Shah and his wife’s accounts.
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{{/usCountry}}Reportedly, the employees initially guided Shah on placing trades, but soon escalated their control by visiting his home and sending emails from their own devices. Shah provided all necessary information, including OTPs, while only receiving selective updates from the company.
Between March 2020 and June 2024, Shah received annual statements showing profits, which masked the true extent of the trading activity. He remained unaware of the mounting losses in his account.
The fraud was uncovered in July 2024 when Shah was contacted by the company. He was informed that his accounts had a debit balance of ₹35 crore and that immediate repayment was required, or the shares would be sold.
On visiting the brokerage, Shah discovered that unauthorised trades, including circular trades, had caused massive losses. To settle the debt and protect his remaining assets, he reluctantly sold his remaining shares.
Only after downloading the full trading statements from the website did Shah realise the scale of the deception. He found significant discrepancies between these statements and the “profit” reports sent to him over the years. Shah also learned that the company had responded to multiple notices from the National Stock Exchange in his name without his knowledge.
Shah filed an FIR with the Varanai police station. A case has been registered and further investigation is underway.