Mumbai: Three employees of an advertising and talent-hunt media firm in Andheri West were booked on Saturday for allegedly embezzling ₹1.41 crore by raising fake project bills and forging celebrities’ signatures to clear payments.
Three employees of advertising firm booked for forging signatures of celebs
According to the police, the accused siphoned off company funds by forging the signatures of actress Athiya Shetty and her husband, cricketer KL Rahul, and by creating a fake email ID in the name of actor Arshad Warsi to push through bogus projects. The accused have been identified as Rishabh Surekha, Yash Nagarkoti, and Ashay Shastri.
An FIR has been registered under Section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). “We are investigating the case and verifying the financial transactions. No arrests have been made so far, as evidence is being collected,” said a police officer. The complaint was filed by Jeni Anthony, 28, an employee of the firm, which has its head office in Haryana and a branch in Andheri West.
The police said Surekha joined the firm in July 2023 as senior manager–client servicing (influencer marketing) executive and was responsible for branding, liaising with influencers and supervising project execution. He was also authorised to communicate project details to the finance department and the company’s CEO.
After joining the firm, Surekha availed an interest-free loan of ₹15 lakh from the company, citing his mother’s medical treatment. In August 2024, he, with the help of Shastri, reportedly secured an advertising project for Havells featuring actress Dia Mirza and informed the company that ₹31 lakh was payable to the production house, Hooray Movies. However, he allegedly told Yash Nagarkoti, CEO of Hooray Movies, that the project value was ₹62 lakh, leading to a dispute and additional payments by the company, the officer said.
The FIR further states that the company later discovered the conspiracy in which the trio allegedly generated forged bills in the names of well-known companies, including Havells, Mahindra Lifespaces, Realme Number Series and Birla Estates. More than ₹52 lakh was allegedly diverted into Surekha’s personal bank account.
Further investigation revealed that Surekha allegedly misused the company’s official email ID to impersonate authorised representatives while communicating with talent management agencies and clients. He is also accused of forging Athiya Shetty’s signature and creating a fake email ID in the name of actor Arshad Warsi to fraudulently obtain funds for non-existent projects.