Fraudster impersonating CA duped Mumbai Businessman; Caused Loss of Rs.1.3 Crore

A man was detained on Friday for impersonating a chartered accountant and defrauding a south Mumbai businessman by accepting Rs.1.3 crore to open his company’s GST accounts but pocketing the money.

The accused individual, Aftab Memon, had received money from the businessman, a BMC contractor, in order to register and open new GST accounts for his company. He seized his KYC documents, formed fake firms, and created and distributed counterfeit invoices, according to a Colaba police official.

“But he pocketed the money meant for GST payment rather than depositing it in the govt treasury, causing loss of Rs.1.3 crore to the exchequer,” alleged one officer.

Memon has been charged under the old IPC sections of cheating, forgery, breach of trust, 120 B of criminal conspiracy, and section 74 of the Goods and Services Tax Act. He has been placed in police custody by a court order.

The fraud was discovered on April 19 when Jay Dhani, a businessman, received notices from the state GST department requesting that he submit a GST payment default of Rs.1.5 crore.

When Dhani asked Memon for help with registering and managing his company’s GST requirements, Memon allegedly manipulated the registration process. Instead of Dhani’s mobile number, he entered the number of a timber merchant from south Mumbai.

According to the police, Dhanire told them that he believed Memon because of his “professional credentials” but later discovered that he had been tricked. This occurred when irregularities in his financial records became apparent, prompting him to conduct a further investigation. When he realized the scale of the deception, he approached the authorities, resulting in the filing of the FIR.

The FIR describes how Memon utilized his knowledge to misappropriate the businessman’s GST payments, diverting them into his own accounts and spending them on personal expenses.

Memon allegedly gained control of Dhani’s GST portals by securing OTPs (One-Time Passwords) and other sensitive information under the name of assisting him with registration and compliance. He allegedly faked GST certificates to give the impression that his tax obligations were being appropriately managed.