Mumbai: A 40-year-old man from Colaba was cheated of Rs 2.4 crore by a fraudster posing as a chartered accountant in an involved car rental scam. The accused, identified as Rahul Shah, was introduced to the victim, Suhas Mestri, by a mutual acquaintance in 2023.
The incident happened when Shah convinced Mestri to invest in 11 cars, claiming they would be rented out to diplomats and high-profile guests staying in reputed hotels in Mumbai, according to a Hindustan Times report. Shah, who allegedly had contacts in these hotels, promised lucrative monthly returns and even arranged for bank officials to visit Mestri’s home to facilitate the paperwork.
Trusting Shah, Mestri took loans for the car purchases, including a personal loan for down payments, based on the assurance that Shah would handle the rentals and EMI payments.
However, between August 2023 and February 2024, Mestri realised that the EMIS were not being paid and that Shah had become unreachable. Left to cover the monthly payments on his own, Mestri ultimately approached the Kalachowki police, as per the HT report.
The police arrested the accused, who has since been charged under relevant sections of the law on Monday. The case highlights the growing trend of financial fraud involving impersonation and false promises of high returns.
Cyber Crime Complaint Over Fake Email Impersonating Travel Body By VFS Global Files
A senior official from VFS Global Services Pvt. Ltd. has filed a complaint with the West Region Cyber Police Station regarding a case of cyber impersonation and defamation. The complaint is against an unidentified individual who allegedly created a fake email ID to damage the company's reputation among Indian government agencies and foreign embassies
