Thane: Thane Police’s Economic Offenses Wing arrested a businessman, Parag Shah, on Wednesday for allegedly defrauding 124 investors of Rs 91.6 crore through a fake investment scheme that promised high returns through search engine advertisements. Shah was the complainant in the case, but the probe showed him as the key conspirator. He was arrested from Narayangaon in Pune. He was the state head for the sham company, said Parag Manere, DCP (EOW) Thane city police.The accused created a fraudulent scheme claiming that his company was developing multiple applications for major search engines. Shah and his counterparts in Gujarat convinced investors that advertising revenue from these apps would generate returns in dollars. This elaborate deception attracted hundreds of investors who put their money into the company between 2020 and 2024.When investors failed to receive promised returns, they filed complaints at Vartaknagar police station. A case was registered against several persons where this accused was a complainant and later turned out to be accused. The investigation revealed fraudulent amounts totalling Rs 91.6 crore.Acting on intelligence that Shah was hiding in Narayangaon, Pune, the Economic Offences Wing tracked him down and made the arrest. Following his court appearance, Shah was remanded in police custody until Jun 11.Police investigations suggested that hundreds of investors could have been affected by this scheme. Officials said that they expect both the number of victims and the total amount of the fraud to increase as more cases come to light during the ongoing investigation.Thane: Thane Police’s Economic Offenses Wing arrested a businessman, Parag Shah, on Wednesday for allegedly defrauding 124 investors of Rs 91.6 crore through a fake investment scheme that promised high returns through search engine advertisements. Shah was the complainant in the case, but the probe showed him as the key conspirator. He was arrested from Narayangaon in Pune. He was the state head for the sham company, said Parag Manere, DCP (EOW) Thane city police.The accused created a fraudulent scheme claiming that his company was developing multiple applications for major search engines. Shah and his counterparts in Gujarat convinced investors that advertising revenue from these apps would generate returns in dollars. This elaborate deception attracted hundreds of investors who put their money into the company between 2020 and 2024.When investors failed to receive promised returns, they filed complaints at Vartaknagar police station. A case was registered against several persons where this accused was a complainant and later turned out to be accused. The investigation revealed fraudulent amounts totalling Rs 91.6 crore.Acting on intelligence that Shah was hiding in Narayangaon, Pune, the Economic Offences Wing tracked him down and made the arrest. Following his court appearance, Shah was remanded in police custody until Jun 11.Police investigations suggested that hundreds of investors could have been affected by this scheme. Officials said that they expect both the number of victims and the total amount of the fraud to increase as more cases come to light during the ongoing investigation.