Surat: Chowk Bazar police have arrested one Nilesh Jadav for allegedly defrauding 178 investors of Rs 3.38 crore through a fake investment and real estate scheme.

Jadav, who once held a franchise of LKP Securities, had opened a firm called Nilesh Investment and Share Broking and Real Estate in 2020, promising monthly returns of 1.5% to lure investors.

According to a complaint filed by Chetan Vaghela, Jadav offered him a job and encouraged him to bring in new investors. Vaghela invested Rs 60,000 and eventually convinced 178 friends and relatives to invest crores into the scheme since 2020. Though some early investors received returns, the payouts stopped in April 2024.

Later, Jadav allegedly tried to reassure concerned investors by promising to release pending returns in bulk. He also offered low-cost apartments in his real estate ventures to some investors and distributed fake share certificates.

However, after not receiving their money back, Vaghela and others filed a police complaint, after which Jadav was arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Provisions of the Gujarat Protection of Interest of Depositors Act have also been invoked.