A proprietor of two financial investment firms in Thane, Maharashtra, has been booked for allegedly defrauding at least 10 investors of approximately Rs 1.20 crore by promising guaranteed monthly returns through share market and foreign exchange trading plans. Police registered the case on 24 July following a preliminary inquiry by the Economic Offences Wing, which uncovered a wider pattern of alleged cheating that stretched across two years and multiple victims.
The accused reportedly drew investors in through assurances of regular monthly income, deploying an agent-based referral network to continually expand his client base. What appeared on the surface to be a functioning investment operation turned out, investigators allege, to be a scheme built on false promises and unverified credentials. The fraud allegedly ran from 2022 to 2024, a period during which India’s retail investment landscape was expanding rapidly, drawing millions of first-time participants into stock and derivative markets. That same momentum created fertile ground for unregistered operators to pitch themselves as credible alternatives to mainstream financial products. No arrest has been made so far, and investigation remains ongoing.
How the Scheme Was Structured
The accused allegedly presented his two firms as active participants in share trading and forex markets, offering investment plans valid for close to one year. Investors were promised monthly returns of 5 to 6 per cent, a figure designed to sound plausible without triggering immediate scepticism. At that rate, an investor would see their capital double in roughly 16 to 20 months, a prospect attractive enough to persuade multiple people to transfer substantial sums.
The complainant in the case invested Rs 18 lakh and initially received Rs 7.20 lakh as partial interest payments, a common tactic used in such schemes to build trust before the pattern of repayment breaks down. The remaining principal and pending interest were allegedly withheld despite repeated follow-ups, prompting the investor to approach the Economic Offences Wing with a formal complaint.
The EOW’s preliminary inquiry found that nine additional investors had independently placed money with the same firms and were collectively cheated of approximately Rs 1.02 crore. The combined exposure across all 10 investors amounts to Rs 1.20 crore, though investigators are examining whether further victims remain unidentified.
The Regulatory Red Flags Investors Missed
The Thane case reflects a pattern that regulators have been warning about consistently. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has urged investors to conduct due diligence, verify registration, and be cautious of investments promising high returns, stating that investments offering high returns usually involve high risk, including fraud risk, and there can be no guarantees of assured returns in the securities market.
Forex trading in India is additionally constrained by a strict legal framework. Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and SEBI regulations, Indian residents can only trade currency through exchange-traded futures and options on recognised Indian exchanges such as the NSE, BSE, and the Metropolitan Stock Exchange. Any firm offering forex investment plans outside of this regulated route is operating in legally questionable territory. The RBI’s Alert List, updated as recently as January 2026, continues to name dozens of unauthorised entities, and engaging with such platforms can attract penalties of up to three times the amount involved.
The case has been registered under sections related to cheating, criminal breach of trust, and provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act. Investigators are now examining financial records, bank transactions, investor details, and the referral agent network used to recruit clients.
A Growing Threat Across India
The Thane incident is far from isolated. India’s rapid expansion of retail investor participation, with over 13 crore trading accounts, has made this demographic a primary target for scammers, and SEBI initiated actions against 886 entities involved in market manipulation and deceptive financial reporting between April 2024 and June 2025 alone.
A key vulnerability exploited in such cases is the appearance of early returns. Partial payouts create a false sense of legitimacy, encouraging existing investors to stay and new investors to join before the scheme collapses. Authorities have repeatedly advised the public to verify whether firms collecting public money hold the necessary SEBI or RBI approvals before any funds are transferred.
As the investigation advances, police are expected to determine whether the accused held valid regulatory registrations, trace the full financial trail across both firms, and establish whether the agent network warrants separate criminal liability. The question of how many victims remain outside the current complaint is one investigators say they are actively pursuing.
