A suspect has been arrested in Bengaluru by the South Region cyber police for defrauding a Juhu businessman of ₹2.5 crores by misusing the name of the renowned company Motilal Oswal. The suspect created a fake WhatsApp group under the company's name to encourage investment in shares. The suspect, Prashant S. Shivamodia, was found to be monitoring all transactions in the bank account at the request of S. Sridhar, who is the main accused and is currently wanted in these crimes. The 67-year-old complainant is a resident of Juhu and currently lives in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. On May 8, 2024, a woman named Kalpana Ashok sent him a letter from a WhatsApp number to open a security institution account with Motilal Oswal. He filled out the form and sent it back, after which he was added to a WhatsApp group named Motilal Oswal, which provided information about the company's shares.
To gain the trust of the members, a certificate of registration with SEBI was posted in the group, claiming it to be the official group of the company. They were told that investing in the company's shares would yield a 20% profit, and through various IPOs and investments, they could achieve significant gains. The complainant decided to invest in the company's shares. After informing the group, the complainant received a link to start investing in the company's shares. Initially, he invested ₹3 lakhs and saw good returns, prompting him to invest more, aiming for maximum profit. Believing in this, he invested ₹2.48 crores from May 13 to June 13, 2024, expecting a profit of ₹20 crores. When he tried to transfer some amount to his bank account, he couldn't. Upon inquiring, the accused told him that he could not withdraw the amount immediately and that he needed to pay 20% of the amount first. Suspecting fraud, he contacted Motilal Oswal's company and discussed it with Brijesh Bhatt, who informed him that the company had no such WhatsApp group and had not asked anyone to invest in its shares through this group. Realizing the fraud, he contacted the South Region Cyber Police Station and filed a complaint.
The police began their investigation as soon as the case was registered. They found that about ₹16 lakhs were deposited in the bank account where the money was transferred. ₹87 lakhs had been transferred to another bank account. While gathering information about the account holders, the police discovered that the suspect was in Bengaluru. Upon receiving this information, a police team took Prashant Shivamodia into custody in Bengaluru. As his involvement in the crimes was confirmed during the investigation, he was arrested and brought to Mumbai for further investigation. A police officer stated that the investigation revealed that the suspect was working for the main accused, S. Sridhar. Under Sridhar's instructions, Prashant Shivamodia transferred the defrauded amount to another bank account. Since Sridhar is on the run, the police are actively searching for him.