Surat: The CID Crime branch has registered a case against 15 individuals for their alleged involvement in a stockbroking scam worth Rs 2.75 crore. This action follows accusations made by stock brokerage firm Zerodha Ltd against Surat resident Kishan Soni for fraud.

Soni initially joined the company as a client in 2018 and later became a personal client associate in 2020, assisting people in opening Demat and trading accounts, earning commissions in the process. Over time, he opened 432 accounts and earned Rs 55 lakh in commissions. However, the company learned that Soni had opened these accounts using fraudulent documents. He had recruited 14 individuals from Bihar to help manage the accounts and facilitate trading activities. An internal audit revealed tax and GST evasion totaling Rs 2.20 crore, bringing the total scam amount to Rs 2.75 crore.

The fraud came to light when the company noticed that 332 out of the 432 accounts had debit balances. Upon contacting the account holders, many denied opening the accounts, exposing the scam.

The police have now filed charges against Kishan Soni and 14 others, including Sivam Kumar, Sachin Kumar, Niraj Kumar, Dinanath Shambhuran, Kumod Kumar, Rajesh Yadav, Ankit Kumar, Arvind Kumar, Ranjana Kumar, Rahul Chaudhary, Avinash Kumar, Ramkumar Singh, Ashish Kumar, and Akshay Kumar. DeshGujarat.