Mumbai IT Professional Duped of ₹35.7 Lakh in Online Trading Scam

A 40-year-old IT professional from Ghatkopar East has lodged a complaint alleging that he was cheated of ₹35,71,409 in a sophisticated online trading scam. The fraud took place between October and November 2025 through a fake trading platform disguised as a legitimate investment service.

According to the police, the victim, who works as a Senior Consultant with a reputed IT firm, was introduced to an online trading group named SYSTEMATIX GROUP BLOCK TRADING by a childhood friend. He was then added to another group called A2-SYSTEMATIX, where members promised high profits from stock trading.

In the group, he came in contact with a woman named Devanshi Parekh, who introduced herself as an assistant to Vinit Maheshwari. Devanshi guided him to register on a mobile application called ‘neo sysmt’, claiming it was a legitimate trading platform. She then persuaded him to transfer funds to various bank accounts for trading purposes.

Trusting her and other group members—identified as Riya Vashisth, Rider Rohan, Luna Ram Dewasi, and Manav Desai—the complainant transferred over ₹35.7 lakh through net banking and RTGS. The app showed impressive profits, further convincing him that the trades were genuine. Devanshi also sent him fake SEBI registration documents to add credibility.

However, when the complainant tried to withdraw his profits on November 4 and 6, the money never arrived. Devanshi later claimed that his trading account had been “frozen” and demanded an additional ₹5 lakh to reactivate it. Realizing he had been cheated, the victim approached the East Region Cyber Police and filed a complaint.

Police have registered a case against Devanshi Parekh, Vinit Maheshwari, the creators of the ‘neo sysmt’ app, and the holders of the bank accounts used in the fraud. Investigators are now tracing the suspects and working to recover the defrauded amount.