Pune: Lawyer held for cheating investors of Rs 1.10 crore

Pune: A lawyer has been arrested for promising 20 per cent returns on investments in crypto currency and collecting Rs 1.10 crore but neither paid any returns nor the principal amount of investors.

The Pune Cyber Police took the action. The accused was at large after his anticipatory bail was rejected. However, he was arrested later. The accused has been identified as Santosh Popat Thorat, a resident of Kharadi.

The police suspect the scope of the case to be larger. Thorat created Sonitix Exchange, a crypto currency. He lured investors by promising 20 pc returns on their investment. The complainant and others invested Rs 1.10 cr in the crypto currency. However, the accused did not pay single rupee and cheated the investors.

A case was registered at the Chatuhshrungi Police Station in this regard. Thorat then applied for anticipatory bail. However, the court rejected his bail application.

The accused changed his mobile number to evade arrest. He kept on changing his location. However, the Cyber Police traced him through technical analysis and arrested him from Wagholi. Two mobile phones have been confiscated from his possession.

The police have appealed to people that if anyone has been cheated in this case, they should lodge a complaint with the Cyber Police. The police have asked those who have invested in Sonitix Crypto currency to visit the Cyber Police Station in Shivajinagar.

The action was taken under the guidance of DCP Vikrant Deshmukh and ACP RN Raje. A squad comprising Sr PI Minal Tupe-Patil, Sandeep Mundhe, Sandip Pawar and Dinesh Markad took the action.