A group of investors in Mumbai and Pune have been defrauded of Rs.3.39 crore by an investment firm. The city police have started investigating the fraud, which was perpetrated by a firm with offices in Kharadi, Pune, and Mumbai.

According to the police, at least 90 people in Pune invested in the company, which allegedly promised high returns every month. However, the company breached the contract without paying the promised sum. The incident took place between September 2021 and October 2023, and the firm was operated by five people, including a woman.

People invested sums ranging from Rs.15,000 to Rs.26 lakhs in the fraud. A housewife from Dhanori was the first complainant in the case, filing her complaint two weeks ago. Many more complaints followed, according to the police.

“Our team visited the firm”s office in a commercial center in Kharadi and found that it had been locked for about six months. The suspects had rented it in 2021. We have sought rent agreement copies from the owner of the building for further investigations,” Senior Inspector of Police Rajendra Landge of the Chandannagar police station told the Times of India.

According to a police officer, a retired defense personnel and his wife attended a seminar conducted by the firm in August 2021. During the seminar, the firm”s office-bearers informed them about the profit generated from share trading and investing in the shares. The firm promised the victim 15% returns on a monthly basis, following which the victim invested Rs.30 lakh in two different investment schemes of the firm in different phases during the 2021-22 period. The firm returned Rs.25 lakh to the victim in a year, but did not return the remaining amount of Rs.5 lakh. The victim and her husband visited the company”s office six months ago and found it locked. No one from the firm answered their phone calls either.

The firm officials had assured the investors that they would take the entire onus of loss if they incurred any, and investors would not face any burn. However, when the firm stopped paying monthly returns to the investors, they approached the firm officials in early 2022. The firm officials cited reasons of losses due to the Russia-Ukraine war and also claimed that the firm had received several notices from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The police officer said that two of the men, who posed as firm officials, have been previously booked in cheating cases. The police are currently searching for them.