The Goregaon police recently arrested a man for allegedly cheating three members of a family of Rs10.64 lakh in a shares investment fraud. The arrested accused Vaibhav Thombre had provided his bank details for fraudulent transactions, receiving the stolen amount in his account before transferring it to the cyber criminals.
According to the police, the complainant, a 35-year-old IT officer, his wife received investment offers online in the share market and after discussions with her husband she decided to invest Rs2 lakh through a link provided by a fraudster and saw returns, increasing her trust in the scheme. Encouraged by the initial success, she, along with her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, invested more money after being added to a WhatsApp group that promised profitable share market tips.
The group claimed certain shares would double their money, leading them to invest Rs10.64 lakh. Initially, they saw good returns, but when they attempted to transfer their funds, they were unsuccessful and the fraudster stopped responding.
After realising the fraud, the complainant filed a complaint, which led to the registration of a case under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. The police launched an operation to arrest the accused, and Thombre, who had been absconding for seven months, was apprehended. He was later presented before the Borivali court, where he was remanded to judicial custody for fourteen days.
