Couple booked for duping Navi Mumbai man of Rs 1.25 crore in bank auction scam | Thane News

The victim lost Rs 1.25 crore over five years. The accused promised gold and flats from bank auctions at subsidized rates. The female accused posed as a bank HR employee.

THANE: A couple was booked for allegedly defrauding a mechanical draftsman of Rs 1.25 crore by falsely promising him gold and flats from a bank auction scheme at subsidised prices, spanning over five years.
According to the complaint filed at the Shrinagar Police Station, the victim, who works as a mechanical draftsman at a company in Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai, was approached by the female accused in 2018. She allegedly misrepresented herself as an HR employee at a bank on Ghodbunder Road.
“The accused convinced the victim that she could help him purchase gold, apartments, and four-wheeler vehicles at significantly reduced prices through bank auctions. To gain his trust, she claimed she had special access to these auctions through her position at the bank,” said a police officer quoting the complaint.
The female accused allegedly instructed the victim to open specific bank accounts, promising returns of up to four times his investment. Over time, she and her accomplice reportedly created fake bank statements showing the victim accumulated around Rs 2.64 crore in profits, the police said.
To finance these “investments,” the victim pawned his wife’s gold jewellery for Rs 8.3 lakh, mortgaged his home in Airoli for Rs 50 lakh, and took multiple personal loans totalling Rs 30 lakh from various financial institutions.
According to the complaint, the accused continued to demand money for “tax payments” on the supposed profits, which the victim transferred to their accounts between October 2018 and June 2024.
The victim approached the police after repeated attempts to recover his money or receive the promised auction items failed, realising he was systematically defrauded of his life savings.
Srinagar Police in Thane registered a case against the couple under sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery of valuable security, using forged documents as genuine, and criminal breach of trust. Investigators are examining bank account statements, electronic fund transfers, and digital communications between the parties.