Two dupe man of ₹50 lakh through fake MSME loan, forged documents

In yet another case of financial fraud disguised as an MSME business loan, the Ahmedabad Police have registered a complaint against two men who allegedly duped a 28-year-old city resident of ₹50 lakh by forging documents, opening a fake firm in his name, and siphoning off the sanctioned loan amount through a bogus company account.

As per the FIR lodged by Prashant Joshi, a resident of New Ranip, the accused, Chintan Parmar and Sandeep Patel, lured him and his maternal uncle, Ashokbhai Dave, into investing in a small-scale millet processing business in August 2022. Parmar allegedly claimed that he could secure a loan under the MSME scheme “without any mortgage” and assured Joshi that he already operated a similar flour mill in Kathwada.

Believing him, Joshi shared his Aadhaar, PAN card, and bank statements with Parmar, who then claimed to have arranged a rented shed at Bakrol for the factory. Parmar took ₹40,000 in cash as an advance deposit for the shed and later created a fake firm named Mahalaxmi Enterprise in the complainant’s name without his knowledge.

Police said Parmar and his associate Patel then opened a current account under Mahalaxmi Enterprise in Bank of Baroda and fabricated a quotation of ₹75.52 lakh from a firm named Pramukh Enterprise for setting up the millet plant. The bank subsequently sanctioned a ₹50 lakh loan, which was directly credited to the account of Pramukh Enterprise in October 2022.

Joshi later discovered that no machinery was ever delivered, and the two accused had disappeared, switching off their phones and vacating their premises in Nikol. When Joshi sought clarification from the bank, he learnt that the rental agreement and other documents submitted with the loan file contained forged signatures in his name.

Police have registered a case of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and forgery under relevant sections of the BNS against Parmar and Patel. Officials said preliminary inquiries suggest the duo may have targeted several other individuals using similar tactics involving forged MSME loan proposals, fake firms, and collusion with external banking agents.

A senior police officer said, “We are verifying the financial trail of the ₹50 lakh transferred to Pramukh Enterprise and are examining the role of intermediaries involved in the loan process. The accused appear to have executed this fraud in a planned and systematic manner.”

Police have begun efforts to trace the two accused and ascertain whether the so-called Pramukh Enterprise was a legitimate business entity or a front created for siphoning funds.