Father–son duo accused of cheating investors through fake flat investment scheme in Ahmedabad

A case of alleged financial fraud has been registered at the Anandnagar Police Station against a father-son duo from Usmanpura, who are accused of cheating middle-class investors of crores of rupees by purchasing flats in their names and later defaulting on loan repayments.

According to the complaint, the accused Rakesh Shah and his son Harshad Shah operated a real estate office from Arista Business Hub and lured people by promising a guaranteed monthly income of ₹10,000.

Investors were persuaded to allow flats to be purchased in their names, with housing loans taken against the properties. The accused allegedly paid returns and EMIs for a few months before abruptly stopping payments.

The complainant, Upesh Darji, residing at Shrinath Apartment in Wadaj, stated that he was introduced to the scheme by his uncle, Dipak Darji. Trusting the proposal, Upesh agreed after being told that 50% of the loan amount would be recovered from the builder and invested in gold in Dubai, generating fixed monthly returns.

As per the complaint, Upesh was taken to Sanchana village, where a sample flat under the ‘Agam-99’ apartment scheme was shown. A flat valued at ₹15 lakh was selected, and a loan of ₹13.76 lakh was sanctioned from a finance company in the Ellisbridge area, carrying a monthly EMI of around ₹16,000.

The accused reportedly paid Upesh ₹2.70 lakh over 27 months and continued paying the EMIs during this period. They later offered an additional incentive of ₹5,000 per month if more people were brought into the scheme. Enticed by the offer, Upeshbhai helped facilitate flat purchases in the names of more than 10 other individuals.

The alleged fraud surfaced when Rakesh Shah and his son stopped paying the EMIs, leaving investors burdened with loan liabilities.