Ahmedabad: A gym chain owner has accused two employees and a woman of allegedly cheating his company of Rs 1.6 crore by continuing a discontinued membership scheme and diverting customer payments to bank accounts not linked to the company.A complaint alleging cheating, criminal breach of trust, misuse of authority and use of forged documents has been submitted to Crime Branch.According to the complaint, the 38-year-old owner said the gym chain had introduced a special offer from July 1 to July 10, 2025, under which customers could avail 10-year memberships for Rs 10,000. The scheme was discontinued after the offer period ended.The gym owner said he went out of town for nearly two months and assigned office responsibilities to the centre head and branch manager. During his absence, the two employees allegedly “entered into a pre-planned criminal conspiracy” and told gym staff that the membership scheme was still active despite its discontinuation.He alleged that the employees instructed staff not to accept payments in the company’s bank account and instead collect money through personal bank accounts.The complaint also alleged that one of the employees posed as an agent of the gym and collected membership fees from customers in cash and through UPI. The complainant further claimed that the two employees, along with the woman, opened bank accounts using names similar to that of the company.According to the complaint, a forged partnership agreement was used to open a bank account. The gym owner said his company had not granted any franchise at the address mentioned in the agreement.He alleged that between July 11 and Sept 30, 2025, the accused collected Rs 1.6 crore from customers towards gym memberships but did not deposit the money with the company.The alleged fraud came to light after the owner returned and conducted an internal inquiry. Police are examining bank accounts, customer payment records, the alleged forged documents and the total amount involved.
