The Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing has filed a chargesheet against 56-year-old Rohan Bhushan Sheth, alleging he ran a share market investment scheme built on fabricated profit statements, promising investors monthly returns of up to 5%. Investigators have identified 42 investors from Maharashtra and Gujarat who allegedly suffered combined losses of around ₹30.26 crore.
How the Case Came to Light
The investigation began after 60-year-old retired Kandivali resident Sanjay Hiralal Shah approached Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti in April, alleging he and his family had been cheated of more than ₹10.81 crore. According to the complaint, Sheth first came into contact with Shah's son, a software engineer, in 2020, after hiring him to develop a mobile application for his share-trading business, later named Investok.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Sheth allegedly offered to teach Shah share trading, initially promising returns of around 1% a month before later raising the promised returns to 3-5% for larger investments. Shah allegedly invested ₹97.50 lakh, borrowing around ₹1 crore from five acquaintances to do so. He received about ₹50.61 lakh in purported profits but claims around ₹1.02 crore remains outstanding. His wife allegedly invested ₹1.13 crore, and his son a further ₹7.02 crore, meaning a single family's exposure to this scheme reached nearly ₹9 crore.
Fabricated Profits Shown Through Spreadsheets
The EOW alleges Sheth used a similar approach with other investors, inviting them to apartments in Sion and Matunga, walking them through his investment strategy, and showing Excel sheets recording apparent profits. Investigators allege these figures were manipulated throughout. Ultimately, only around ₹3.8 crore was reportedly returned to investors as interest or purported profits, a small fraction against the ₹30.26 crore in alleged total losses.
Three Identities, a Wig, and a Life of Apparent Wealth
Perhaps the most unusual thread in this case is Sheth's alleged use of three separate identities over the years. He was reportedly known as Jayesh Hasmukhbhai Shah during his childhood and college years, with police records including an Aadhaar card carrying that name. He later allegedly spent nearly a decade in Delhi as Rahul Atulbhai Parekh, an identity under which he married and had children. After separating from his wife, he allegedly moved to Mumbai and began using the name Rohan Bhushan Sheth.
Police said documents supporting all three identities initially made it genuinely difficult to establish they belonged to the same person, until investigators eventually recovered documents, bank accounts, and a demat account registered in the Sheth name.
The EOW also alleges Sheth wore a high-quality wig while meeting investors, projecting the appearance of a full head of hair, while privately appearing bald, a detail that later complicated efforts to identify him once he'd fled to Gujarat, since his physical appearance during arrest didn't immediately match how investors had known him.
Properties linked to the case include three-bedroom apartments at Beaumonte near Sion Circle and Bellissimo in Matunga, each estimated at around ₹5 crore, along with another property in Gujarat. Four vehicles, including a BMW, Mercedes, and Mahindra Thar, and around 14 imported watches, including Rolex, Hublot, and IWC, were also seized.
How Police Traced Him to Valsad
The alleged scheme began unravelling in December 2025, when Sheth stopped making payments to investors. By April, his phones were switched off and his Beaumonte flat was locked, with security staff reportedly telling Shah that Sheth had left about a week earlier carrying two large suitcases.
Investigators learned he'd travelled to Gujarat carrying cash, gold, and valuables, moving between districts, switching between multiple SIM cards, and staying in hotels along the way. Police traced a credit card transaction in Gujarat to a shop where a mobile phone had been purchased, obtained the handset's IMEI number, and later followed the movements of his BMW using GPS data and toll plaza transaction records, eventually establishing his location in Valsad.
Police then waited near his residence for three days. After confirming he'd returned, officers approached the flat disguised as housekeeping staff. Sheth opened the door himself and was arrested.
What Was Recovered
Police recovered gold ornaments worth around ₹1.67 crore and ₹17 lakh in cash from Gujarat, in addition to valuables seized from his Mumbai properties. The EOW has since attached three properties, four vehicles, gold, and watches connected to the case, part of a broader effort to secure assets that could eventually support recovery for the affected investors, a financial investigation that traced everything from spreadsheet manipulation through to GPS-tracked toll plaza records to ultimately locate the accused.
FAQs
Q1. How much did investors allegedly lose in total?
Around ₹30.26 crore across 42 identified investors from Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Q2. What returns did Sheth allegedly promise investors?
Initially around 1% monthly, later raised to 3-5% monthly for larger investments, backed by fabricated Excel spreadsheets showing manipulated profit figures.
Q3. How was Sheth's use of three identities discovered?
Investigators recovered documents, bank accounts, and a demat account registered under his Mumbai identity, eventually connecting all three identities, Jayesh Hasmukhbhai Shah, Rahul Atulbhai Parekh, and Rohan Bhushan Sheth, to the same individual.
Q4. How did police eventually track him down?
By tracing a credit card transaction and phone purchase in Gujarat, then following his BMW's movements using GPS data and toll plaza records to locate him in Valsad.