Ankita Lokhande, Tejasswi Prakash, Adrija Roy, and Aayush Sharma and 25 other TV celebs were allegedly duped out of nearly Rs 1.5 crore. Mumbai police have registered a complaint against five individuals linked to Indore-based Sky 63 Energy Drinks. Tanish Chhajed and Manu Shrivastava, along with Faizal Idrii, Abdul, and Riitik Panchal were named as the masterminds behind the scam.
Ankita Lokhande and other celebs scammed
The scam artist approached Roshan Bhinder, the owner of the celebrity management firm, Ayman Entertainment. Chhajed and Shrivastava approached Bhinder in 2024, claiming to own the energy drink company and hired his firm to arrange celebrity ad campaigns. Bhinder secured 25 celebrities for promotions and organized an event in Mumbai, on August 10, 2024, which was attended by 100 celebrities.
Shrivastava claimed to have transferred Rs 10 lakh as an advance, but Bhinder never received the payment. Despite this, Bhinder proceeded with the campaign. The agreement promised Rs 1.32 crore for the celebrities and Rs 16.91 lakh as Bhinder’s commission. The accused also shared a fake image of a Rs 15 lakh cheque as payment assurance. Bhinder launched the ad campaign, paying Rs 35 lakh upfront to some celebrities, but the promised payment, supposedly due within 35 days, never materialized. The case is now under police investigation.