Three persons allegedly cheated a businessman in Thane of Rs 7 lakh under the pretext of helping him expand his business, and also misused his company`s data by hacking into the system, police said on Thursday, reported news agency PTI.

The victim runs a hair oil company in Maharashtra`s Thane city, they said, adding the crime took place over the last three years.

An Amravati-based couple and their aide from Washim had approached the victim promising to expand his business by setting up its new branches, creating a software and providing trained staff, reported PTI.