Mumbai Fraud: Investors Duped Of ₹2.35 Crore In Fake Gold Investment Scheme; 4 Booked
· Free Press Journal
Mumbai, March 9: The Mumbai police have registered a case of cheating worth Rs 2.35 crore against four individuals who allegedly lured investors with promises of buying gold at discounted rates under a fraudulent gold scheme.
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According to the FIR, the accused have been identified as Sonal Rabari, her husband Mepa alias Mayur Rabari, their relative Jaydev Rabari, and their associate Ramesh Bhanushali. They allegedly conspired to collect large sums of money from victims by promising high profits through cheap gold purchases.
Complainant approached through acquaintance
The complainant, Bharti Bharat Bhanushali, 34, a resident of NSS Road in Ghatkopar West, lives there with her family. The case dates back to January 2023, when Ramesh Bhanushali, who was known to the complainant, approached her claiming he urgently needed Rs 10 lakh. Bharti initially gave him access to a credit card belonging to her brother Arjun Gauri, through which he withdrew Rs 2.5 lakh.
A month later, Ramesh asked Bharti to obtain a credit card from Sonal Rabari, who lived nearby. During that visit, Bharti was introduced to Sonal Rabari.
Promise of cheap gold to lure investors
Sonal allegedly told Bharti that several people, including Ramesh Bhanushali, Vijay Bhanushali and his wife Uma Bhanushali, were earning high profits by purchasing gold from her at a lower price and reselling it. To gain Bharti’s trust, Sonal showed her three purported 24-carat gold biscuits.
At the time, Sonal claimed she could provide gold at Rs 50,000 per tola, while the market price was around Rs 57,000 per tola at jewellery stores. She told Bharti that payments would have to be made in cash and that the gold would be delivered after three months.
Initial investment and further payments
After discussing the offer with her husband, Bharti decided to invest in the scheme. On January 25, 2023, Mepa alias Mayur Rabari visited Bharti’s home, where she handed him Rs 3.2 lakh in cash and transferred Rs 80,000 via Google Pay to a Union Bank of India account.
In April 2023, Sonal called Bharti on WhatsApp and claimed that the eight tolas of gold she had purchased had arrived. She then convinced Bharti to renew the investment at a revised rate of Rs 56,500 per tola, to which Bharti agreed.
Encouraged by the scheme, Bharti informed her relatives and continued investing. By April 2024, she had taken Rs 24.75 lakh from her brother Arjun and father Ashok Gauri and handed the money to Sonal at her residence. She also paid an additional Rs 1.2 lakh in cash and through Google Pay to increase the earlier investment by five tolas of gold.
Sonal allegedly told Bharti that a total of 70 tolas of gold would be delivered in September 2024.
More investors drawn into the scheme
In July 2024, Sonal again approached Bharti claiming she urgently needed Rs 10 lakh. Acting on Bharti’s request, several acquaintances invested in the scheme, including her friend Lata Rathod (Rs 9 lakh), Dhvani Karkera (Rs 5.5 lakh), another Lata from Andheri (Rs 33 lakh), Kalpana Katariya (Rs 30.5 lakh), Hardik (Rs 9.5 lakh), Amit Bhadra (Rs 8.5 lakh), Bharti’s husband (Rs 8.5 lakh), and her father Ashok (Rs 8 lakh).
By December 2024, a total of Rs 1.12 crore had been paid to Sonal and her husband. Sonal later promised to deliver 2 kilograms and 5 tolas of gold in the last week of January 2025. However, before the delivery, she allegedly collected another Rs 10 lakh from Bharti.
Suspicious transactions and disappearance
On February 9, 2025, Sonal took Bharti to Shilpi Jewellers in Andheri Lokhandwala and handed her three gold biscuits, but later took them back. On March 5, 2025, Bharti’s father-in-law also paid Sonal Rs 10 lakh for purchasing gold. Soon after, Sonal claimed she was travelling to Kutch in Gujarat for medical treatment and switched off her mobile phone.
Fraud discovered after arrest in another case
In September 2025, Bharti came across a newspaper report stating that Sonal Rabari had been arrested in connection with another case registered at Suratgarh police station in Rajasthan on September 11, 2025. Realising that she had been cheated, Bharti approached the Ghatkopar police station and filed a complaint alleging fraud of Rs 2.35 crore.
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Based on her complaint, the police have registered a case under Sections 3(5), 61, 318(4), and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act. Further investigation into the case is underway.
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