Mumbai: In a shocking case of financial fraud, the Kalachowky Police have arrested a proclaimed Chartered Accountant on Sunday for large-scale loan fraud racket for over Rs. 2.4 crore. The accused, Rahul Giri Shah and with the other accused aliases Sachin and Saurabh. The scam by exploiting banking loopholes and identity theft.
The victim, Suhash Mestri, a supervisor at the KC Mahindra Education Trust, was introduced to Shah in August 2023 through a mutual friend. Shah presented a lucrative car rental business plan, claiming he had connections with reputed hotels and government departments, as reported by The Times Of India. He promised that vehicles bought on loans under Mestri’s name would be rented out, generating monthly profits, while assuring to cover all EMIs and down payments.
Trusting Shah, Mestri and his wife provided their documents. However, the couple was unaware that Shah had used their identity to secure 15 to 18 car loans and a personal loan from banks and NBFCs including SBI, Kotak Mahindra, AU Bank, Bajaj Finance, and UCO Bank totaling Rs 2.15 crore.
Additionally, Shah took Rs 5.09 lakh for down payments and made Mestri purchase phones and laptops worth Rs 1.32 lakh on EMI, according to report. By February 2025, Mestri had paid Rs 18.85 lakh from his own savings towards EMIs, only to learn he had been conned. None of the EMIs were paid by Shah, and the promised profits never came.
“They took advantage of our trust and left us burdened with loans for cars we never used,” stated Mestri in his complaint. Initially, Shah was arrested by Achole Police (Vasai) in connection with a similar offence. However, following Mestri's statement, the Kalachowky Police took custody of Shah and booked him under Sections 316, 318(4), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023.
Authorities have so far seized two of the 15 vehicles involved in the case a Hyundai i20 valued at Rs 12.96 lakh and a Hyundai i10 worth Rs 8.12 lakh and efforts are underway to recover the remaining cars. According to the TOI report, “Panchanamas were conducted, and we have collected digital evidence, including chat records and account transactions.”
