Borivli police have registered a case against Pawan Kishin Gehi, his brother Jitendra Kishin Gehi, and their accomplices for allegedly duping multiple people of over Rs 14 lakh through a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme.
The complaint was filed by a 46-year-old businessman from Borivli West, who, along with his friends, invested in a fake cryptocurrency firm called DeFi AI. The victim stated that he first came into contact with Pawan in 2018, who introduced him and others to various investment plans, including cryptocurrency schemes.
According to the FIR, in June 2022, Pawan approached the complainant with a proposal to invest in DeFi AI, showing an app and claiming investors could earn crores in US dollars. Trusting these claims, the complainant initially gave Rs 3.28 lakh in cash to Pawan for investment. He later made multiple online transfers totaling Rs 2.9 lakh to the bank account of Pawan’s wife, Khushboo Gehi.
Between June 2022 and December 2023, the accused collected Rs 14.54 lakh in installments from the complainant and his associates, often in cash. Initially, the complainant received screenshots showing profits in dollars, but when the app stopped working, the accused gave vague excuses of “technical updates.” Eventually, the accused stopped all communication.
Realizing they had been defrauded, the victim and other investors filed a complaint with Borivli police. “A case has been registered under IPC sections related to cheating and criminal breach of trust,” a police officer said. Notices have been issued to the accused for investigation.
