The Dahisar police have registered an FIR against four persons for allegedly cheating 98 people of Rs1.85 crore by trapping them with the lure of handsome returns on Bitcoin investment. The accused have been identified as Amit Bhosale, Amol Doke, Laxman Chauhan and Sujit Jadhav, who are on the run.
Initial probe revealed that they operated a company ‘SJAB Digital Solution LLP’ with its office in Dahisar West. The police suspect that the quartet may have defrauded more people. The complainant in the case is Bhimsingh Bhool, 52, a resident of Bhayandar West, who previously worked in a private company, but has been unemployed for the past six months.
According to the FIR, he was looking for a good investment scheme back in 2021 when he met Chauhan through his acquaintances. In September 2021, Bhool visited the latter’s office to know more about ‘investment opportunities’. Chauhan and others allegedly enticed him by promising high returns on investments in Bitcoin through their company. They also encouraged the complainant to convince others to invest too, said the FIR.
A few days later, Chauhan sent a link to Bhool, asking him to download an app using it. Subsequently, he made an investment of Rs2 lakh in his name as well as that of his family. Initially, they received good returns and started to trust the company, prompting Bhool to introduce the scheme to his near and dear ones.
The FIR further said that Chauhan told the complainant and his relatives that Bitcoin prices would increase by March 2022, urging them to pump more money. Unsuspecting, they transferred large sums to ICICI Bank and Yes Bank accounts provided by the accused. However, after a few months, the Bhool family stopped receiving returns, after which they along with other investors visited SJAB’s office only to find it shut, said the FIR.
They anxiously contacted Chauhan and his associate Jadhav, who gave fake assurance that their amounts would be repaid with interest. The aggrieved subsequently learned that Doke and Bhosale are the firm’s owners hence they tried to meet, but in vain. The investors then came to know that the accused had earlier defrauded many people in the same manner.
A case has been filed against the four accused under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act along with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy and breach of trust.
