The Borivli police have booked a man, his brother, and their accomplices for allegedly duping multiple people of over R14 lakh under the pretext of investing in a cryptocurrency scheme. The complaint was filed by a 46-year-old businessman from Borivli West against the main accused, Pawan Kishin Gehi, his brother Jitendra Kishin Gehi, and their partners. According to the complainant, the accused cheated him and his friends of several lakhs of rupees under the pretext of investing in a cryptocurrency firm named DeFi AI. According to the victim, in 2018, they came in contact with Pawan, 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. The accused showed him an investment application and claimed investors could earn in crores in US dollars. Believing the claims, the complainant initially arranged Rs 3.28 lakh in cash and gave it to Pawan for investment. Later, the victim made multiple online transfers totalling Rs 2.9 lakh to the bank account of Pawan’s wife, Khushboo Gehi, the complaint stated.