Investigation Launched Into Rs 3.39 Crore Share Trading Fraud Targeting Pune Investors
Chandan Nagar, 3rd November 2023: Pune City police have initiated a probe into a share trading fraud amounting to Rs 3.39 crore, allegedly orchestrated by an investment firm with offices in Kharadi, Pune, and Mumbai.
The firm Ftrade Sales Agency Marketing Private Limited, operated by Bharat Sopan Pathare, Anjali Bharat Pathare, Dnyaneshwar Adhav alias Mauli, Mahesh Chavan and Anurag Mishra, is accused of deceiving approximately 90 investors from Pune between September 2021 and October this year. Victims, who invested sums ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 26 lakh, were promised lucrative monthly returns on their investments.
A 35-year-old housewife from Dhanori filed a complaint with the Chandannagar police about two weeks ago, triggering the investigation. The police registered a case of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and common intention against the five accused individuals.
Senior Inspector Rajendra Landge provided insights into the investigation, stating that the firm’s Kharadi office had been locked for approximately six months. The police team visited the commercial center in Kharadi and is now awaiting rent agreement copies from the building owner for further examination.
According to Landge, the victim and her husband attended a seminar conducted by the firm in August 2021. The firm, during the seminar, touted profits from share trading and investments, promising a monthly return of 15%. Subsequently, the victim invested Rs 30 lakh in two different schemes in phases throughout the 2021-22 period. While Rs 25 lakh was returned within a year, the remaining Rs 5 lakh was not refunded.
The firm officials assured investors that they would shoulder any losses incurred, creating a false sense of security. When the firm ceased monthly returns, investors confronted the officials in early 2022. The officials attributed the stoppage to losses from the Russia-Ukraine war and claimed to have received notices from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Two individuals posing as firm officials, previously implicated in cheating cases, are now being sought by the police. Investigations are ongoing to bring the perpetrators to justice and uncover the extent of the fraudulent activities orchestrated by the investment firm.
