The Pune police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is currently delving into a Rs3.25 crore investment fraud, uncovering a scheme that victimized 20 individuals, including teachers, ex-servicemen, and private company employees. The fraud, conducted by a share trading company in Satara, unfolded between July 2021 and October 2022, enticing victims with the promise of substantial returns on investment.
The Bharati Vidyapeeth police formally registered an FIR on Saturday against seven office-bearers of the company. The EOW initiated the investigation after completing the verification of a complaint application filed a month ago by a 38-year-old teacher from Ambegaon Pathar and others.
Inspector Gurudutta More of the EOW explained, “A verification of the contents of the complaint application and the bank accounts of the affected investors showed that the money was transferred from their account to three accounts—one each in two private banks and the third in a nationalized bank, all in Satara—of the share trading company. We have sought details of these three accounts from the respective banks and will soon initiate the action to seize office gadgets and properties of the company as part of our investigation.”
The victims initially tried negotiating with the company for the return of their invested money, but the company representatives failed to fulfill their promises. “The verification exercise led us to formally lodge an FIR with the Bharati Vidyapeeth police,” Inspector More added.
The victims, including ex-servicemen and private firm employees, invested amounts ranging from Rs10 lakh to Rs40 lakh with the firm, initially enticed by the promise of higher returns. The company officials presented themselves as professionals and maintained the facade by paying the promised returns for a couple of months. However, the payments eventually stopped, leaving the victims without their expected returns.
One victim shared their experience, saying, “When the firm stopped payments to us, we tried to locate them on the addresses mentioned on the documents.”
