Woman held for duping investors of ₹2.5 crore through bogus ‘Grow Money’ firm

The Chandkheda police have arrested a 35-year-old woman from Surat for allegedly duping more than 30 investors of over ₹2.43 crore by luring them with promises of unusually high returns through an unregistered company named Grow Money.

Police identified the accused as Jigishaben Laxmanbhai Jadav, a native of Kamboi village in Patan, currently residing in Surat. According to officials, Jadav floated the firm Grow Money without any registration or legal approval and promised returns of 20 per cent per month for investments up to ₹5 lakh and 23 per cent per month for amounts above ₹5 lakh.

The prime complainant, Vatsalkumar Peethadia (42), a resident of Godrej Garden City, told police that he, along with his relatives and friends, invested ₹1.88 crore in the scheme. Two other investors, identified as Sheral, wife of Ajay Shikari, and Shitalben, wife of Gaurangbhai Parmar, were allegedly duped of ₹9.5 lakh and ₹23 lakh, respectively.

Investigators said that during scrutiny of accounts, the total fraud was found to be around ₹2.43 crore, involving 37 investors. “The accused diverted the funds for her personal financial gain and stopped returning the principal as well as the promised returns despite repeated assurances,” said Inspector N G Solanki of Chandkheda police.

Police added that Jadav also allegedly used mobile status messages to threaten investors who began demanding their money back.

Further probe revealed that Jadav’s siblings and associates had been named in similar complaints earlier. At Vejalpur police station, an FIR was registered against her, her brother Nimesh Jadav, sister Kiran Parmar, and another associate for allegedly similarly cheating a businessman. The Economic Offences Wing of CID (Crime), Gandhinagar, is also investigating a related complaint involving investments worth ₹6 crore.

Following a tip-off, a Chandkheda police team was dispatched to Surat, where Jadav was arrested and brought to Ahmedabad. She has been booked under sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with provisions of the Gujarat Protection of Interest of Depositors (GPID) Act, 2003.

Police said efforts are on to trace other possible victims and to establish the total scale of the fraud.