Actor loses ₹1.31 cr in a fake investment scam that promised doubled returns

MUMBAI: The police on Sunday booked seven people for allegedly scamming Bollywood actor Deepu Sharma and several others to invest in a fake company and promised doubled profits. Sharma, who was duped of ₹1.31 crore, claimed the accused duped multiple other investors too to the tune of ₹2.64 crore.

Police said the 51-year-old actor met the accused through a relative in 2017. One of them, Priti Sonawadekar, a Mira Road resident, introduced herself and her accomplices as executives of KBC Agro Pvt Ltd. They persuaded her to invest a small amount in the company’s share, assuring she will receive twice the investment amount within 10 months. Sharma invested a small amount and saw that it doubled in 10 months. Convinced that the company was trustworthy, she invested ₹1.31 crore in 2018. She was even handed a few documents that were allegedly share certificates of the company.

Also read: Nagpur businessman duped of ₹7.63 crore after 35 percent returns promise

“The documents that they gave me were fake receipts of the investment and later I got to know that the company was also fake,” said Sharma. She realised this after she failed to receive her promised profit after 10 months. When Sharma demanded to know what happened to the money, the accused dodged her questions by giving excuses that the company was running into losses.

Sharma enquired with the other investors of the company and found out they did not receive the promised money too. After this, Sharma asked the accused to return her initial invested amount, after which the accused began ignoring her calls altogether.

“The accused told me they had an office at Mira Road, but that they closed it down,” the actor said. Upon visiting the location, she saw there was no such establishment in the area, and that the accused were also not reachable. She then filed a written complaint to the Cyber police in Malad, who transferred it to Malad police station.

“Based on Sharma’s complaint, we conducted an initial investigation and found out that the accused were absconding. We lodged an FIR on Sunday,” said a police officer from Malad police station. “We have launched a manhunt for the accused and have alerted the crime branch to trace them too.”