A 50-year-old developer has been convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for cheating flat purchasers in a redeveloped Byculla building. The developer, Rizwan Dadan, a partner in Royal Realtors, was found guilty of cheating the victims of nearly Rs 11 crore and misappropriating the funds for his own use. The main complainant, a mother-son duo, had purchased a flat in the building for Rs 57 lakh and paid the full amount in 2012 but never received possession. Dadan also violated the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act (MOFA) by accepting more than 20% advance payment without executing the registered agreement. The magistrate stated that the evidence proved Dadan’s fraudulent and dishonest intentions. The accused was fined Rs 50,000 as compensation for the victims, and another accused is still absconding. The maximum sentence for cheating charges is seven years, but as Dadan has been in jail since November 2020, the time spent in jail will be set off against his sentence. The builder of the redeveloped building, Al Fateh, allowed tenants to enter into possession of flats without making full disclosure of the flats sold to the victims, further proving the accused’s breach of trust.