Mumbai Police have filed a case against five individuals, including the owners of an Indore-based energy drink company, for allegedly cheating a celebrity management firm of Rs. 1.48 crore. The accused had hired the firm for celebrity ad campaigns and promotions but failed to make the payment.
Mumbai Police file case against Kushal Tandon, Ankita Lokhande, other celebrities and energy drink firm for Rs 1.48 crore fraud
According to the complaint filed by Roshan Bhinder, 48, owner of Ayman Entertainment, two men, Tanish Chhajed, 26, and Manu Shrivastava, 29, approached her in July 2024. Claiming to be the owners of Sky 63 Energy Drinks, they sought to promote their brand on social media. Bhinder arranged for 25 celebrities, including Ankita Lokhande, Kushal Tandon, Karan Kundrra, Arjun Bijlani, Adrija Roy, and Rithvik Dhanjani, to participate in the campaign.
Initially, Shrivastava claimed to have transferred Rs. 10 lakh as an advance, but the payment never arrived. Despite this, Bhinder went ahead with the campaign, even organizing a promotional party at a luxury hotel in Mumbai on August 10, 2024. The event was attended by 100 celebrities, out of which 25 were finalized for the ad campaign.
The agreed payment was Rs. 1.32 crore for the celebrities and Rs. 16.91 lakh as Bhinder’s commission. The campaign proceeded, with promotional videos posted on social media. However, when it came time to settle payments, the cheques issued by the accused bounced. They later claimed that Rs. 22.5 lakh had been transferred from Dubai, but no money was received.
On October 18, 2024, the accused issued two more cheques totaling Ra. 80 lakh, which also bounced. Bhinder had already paid Rs.35 lakh in advance to some celebrities, leading to significant financial losses. Mumbai Police have booked Chhajed, Shrivastava, and their associates—Faizal Idrii, Abdul, and Riitik Panchal—under fraud-related charges. Investigations are ongoing to track down the suspects and recover the money.
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