A senior citizen was cheated of more than Rs 62 lakh after his demat trading account was fraudulently manipulated by former and current employees of a reputable brokerage firm in Malad. The scam came to light on July 24, when the victim, Jayesh Shamjibhai Patel, a Borivli East resident who has been trading since 2018, visited the company office to update his KYC (Know Your Customer) details. He was surprised to learn that his KYC had already been updated.
When the company staffer checked the system, they discovered that Patel’s bank account, mobile number, and email ID had been fraudulently altered. His registered Bank of Baroda (Goregaon branch) account had been replaced with that of the State Bank of India (Satara branch). Subsequently, between June 5 and July 4, a total of R62,33,491 was siphoned off in seven transactions from the company’s bank account to the fraudulently linked account of another bank.
Following a complaint filed by Bharat Nanubhai Shiroya, 55, director of Comfort Securities, under the guidance of DCP Sandeep Jadhav and Senior Inspector Dushyant Chauhan, Police Inspector Manoj Patil, API Amol Shinde, and Constable Tausif Shaikh launched a probe and arrested four men.
The accused were identified as Omkar Chetiyar, 35, a former employee of the brokerage firm and the alleged mastermind; Gopal Madvi, 44, an employee accused of forging KYC documents and producing fake papers; Yogesh Indalkar, 44, a cricket coach and friend of Chetiyar, who opened a bogus bank account in Satara and later sold it to him after pocketing R2.7 lakh; and Vijay Pawar, 41, a security guard from Chembur, who allegedly helped procure a new mobile number and assisted Chetiyar in opening bank accounts. The police said Pawar received R60,000 from the fraudulent amount.
The modifications were made on May 29 and 30, 2025, without following mandatory KYC procedures. The accused were nabbed from Satara, Navi Mumbai, and Palghar. Investigators revealed that forged PAN, Aadhaar, and bank cheque copies were used to alter Patel’s KYC. Patel has denied ever providing these documents, said an officer from Malad police station.
