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Exclusive: Quona-Backed RentOk In Trouble — Frauds, FIRs & A Cash Crunch

• ByStartupStory     |    July 16, 2025

Trouble seems to be mounting at proptech startup RentOk, with a recently filed FIR revealing serious allegations of fraud and financial misconduct by its top leadership.

Backed by leading investors Quona Capital and India Quotient, RentOk is now in the spotlight for the wrong reasons — involving accusations of forging documents, cheating a shareholder out of ₹1.24 Cr, and misappropriating company assets.

According to the First Information Report (FIR No. 0554/2024), filed at Delhi’s K.N. Katju Marg Police Station and reviewed by Startup Story Media, the complainant alleges that senior officials at EazyApp Tech Pvt. Ltd. (operating under the brand RentOk) engaged in a pre-planned criminal conspiracy. The report states that shares of the company worth over ₹1.24 Cr were promised, transferred, and then allegedly fraudulently reclaimed by forging ownership documents.

The Alleged Fraud — Fake Transfers, Forged Signatures, “Non-Cooperative” Founders

The complaint describes a transaction involving 1,923 shares owned by a co-founder, proposed to be sold to the complainant in late 2023 due to the company’s financial stress. A share transfer deed was executed in January 2024, and the amount was paid in full.

However, after the payment was made, the complainant alleges that the RentOk leadership — Manish Kumar, Srijan Raj, and Nimit Jain — refused to cooperate in completing the transfer, citing false reasons like “no such person at the address,” followed by email intimidation and verbal threats.

Later, the accused allegedly forged board filings (MGT-7A) to remove the complainant’s name and illegally redistribute the shares amongst themselves — while falsely declaring “NIL” in financial statements to cover up the transaction.

The FIR invokes multiple sections of the IPC, including: 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 467/468 (forgery of valuable security), 471 (use of forged document), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 34 (common intention).

Police have acknowledged that prima facie evidence supports the case and have initiated a formal investigation.

VC Cash Burn, Debt-Fuelled Survival

Parallel to the legal troubles, sources close to RentOk told Startup Story Media that the startup is facing a severe cash crunch. After raising early-stage capital from India Quotient and Quona Capital, the company has burned through most of its funding with limited revenue traction.

“They’ve been trying to raise the next round for months now,” one person familiar with the discussions said. “But with this much noise around governance and mounting liabilities, most VCs are steering clear. The only option left was to take on short-term debt just to survive.”

The startup, which positioned itself as a tech-first solution for landlords and property managers, is now grappling with not just financial instability but a trust deficit in the ecosystem.

Proptech’s Governance Wake-up Call?

This case is shaping up to be a cautionary tale in India’s proptech space — where financial intermediaries manage significant capital flows but often operate in a grey zone of regulatory oversight.

Neither RentOk nor its investors responded to Startup Story Media’s queries at the time of publishing.

With legal investigations underway and capital nearly exhausted, RentOk may find it increasingly difficult to raise new funding — or even maintain existing client relationships — unless it urgently addresses the allegations and restores confidence.

This is a developing story. We will update it as more facts.

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