Ex-HR Executive Booked for ₹13.53 Lakh Fake Salary Fraud in Ahmedabad Food Firm

The Vastrapur Police have registered a case against a former human resources (HR) executive of a city-based food manufacturing company for allegedly syphoning off more than ₹13.53 lakh by fraudulently transferring salaries to the bank accounts of individuals who were never employed by the company.

The alleged fraud took place between September 2025 and May 2026 at the office of ABS Foods Limited, located in the Sheetal West Park Imperia building in Vastrapur.

Complaint

The complaint was lodged on June 30 by Avadh Naresh Sharma, 65, a businessman and director of ABS Foods Limited, who jointly manages the company with his son, Mayank Sharma.

According to the complaint, Jamie Hareshbhai Ladani, a resident of Upleta in Rajkot district, had worked as the company's HR executive for about a year.

Sharma alleged that Ladani abused his position by:

• Inserting the names of fictitious employees into the company's payroll system.
• Diverting salaries into the bank accounts of his relatives and associates.

Fraud uncovered during salary processing

The alleged irregularity came to light after the company terminated several employees on May 25, 2026.

While processing salaries for June, the company's accountant, Khushbuben Prajapati, reportedly detected discrepancies in the payroll records, prompting an internal audit.

Audit findings

The internal audit allegedly revealed that salaries had been credited over several months to at least 10 individuals who had never worked for the company.

According to police, the recipients included:

• Deeptiben Hareshbhai Ladani
• Lakhan Maganbhai Chauhan
• Savitaben Maganbhai Chauhan
• Prafulbhai Kangad
• Ajay Kangad
• Devdan Bhojabhai Kangad
• Hareshbhai Virjibhai Makwana
• Vishal Kumar
• Sanjay Kumar
• Vadher Vivek Bhikhubhai

Money trail

Police said the salaries were transferred through multiple transactions from the company's Axis Bank accounts to accounts held with:

Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and The Gujarat State Co-operative Bank.

Alleged payments

Investigators alleged that the largest transfers included:

The total amount allegedly misappropriated was ₹13.53 lakh.

Police action

The complainant alleged that when confronted with the discrepancies, Ladani gave inconsistent explanations regarding the transactions, prompting the company to approach the police. A complaint has been filed against Ladani.