Thane, Feb. 2 -- The Thane police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested three persons from Gujarat for their alleged involvement in a massive investment fraud worth over Rs.1,200 crore, in which more than 11,000 investors across Maharashtra were cheated. The arrested accused have been identified as Sameer Narvekar, 37, his wife Neha Narvekar, 35, and their associate Amit Palav, 37. They were arrested in Gujarat on Thursday and produced before a local court, which remanded them to 10 days of police custody. The police said multiple cases of cheating and fraud had earlier been registered against Sameer in eight districts of Maharashtra. According to the police, the accused were running an investment firm, Trade With Jazz (TWJ), from Pune since 2019. The firm allegedly lured investors by promising guaranteed returns of 4% per month, claiming that it invested funds in the stock market and generated monthly returns of up to 10%. The company expanded rapidly and set up 16 branches across Maharashtra. However, in November, one of the investors, Sanjay Pundalik Mapuskar, a resident of Vikhroli, lodged a complaint at Srinagar Police Station in Thane. He alleged that he and his relatives were cheated of Rs.77 lakh after being promised high returns. While the firm initially paid returns, the payments were later stopped. When Mapuskar visited the TWJ office in Wagle Estate, Thane, the staff allegedly told him that payments were delayed as funds were "stuck in Singapore". According to the complaint, Sameer, the firm's founder and managing director, continued to reassure investors through video calls that dues would be cleared soon. However, in August, when Mapuskar visited TWJ's office again he found it shut. No staff were present and all contact numbers were switched off. He then registered a case under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act and sections 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 316(5) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). During the probe, the police found that at least 13 other investors had been similarly cheated of more than Rs.3 crore. Suspecting a much larger financial scam, the case was transferred to the Thane EOW for further investigation. An EOW official told HT, "We found that the accused were absconding, launched a search, traced them to Gujarat, arrested them, and secured their police custody for ten days." The officer added that preliminary findings suggested nearly 11,000 investors were duped of around Rs.1,200 crore. Most victims were reportedly government employees who invested in the scheme in the hope of securing financial stability after retirement. The police suspect the number of victims may be higher and have urged affected investors to approach the Thane EOW. Prashant Mapuskar, the complainant, told HT, "We invested around Rs.10 crore. I even sold my room and took loans to invest in their scheme." However, payments stopped in February 2025. He claimed that over 1,500 police personnel may also have invested in the scheme....