Three persons allegedly cheated a businessman in Thane of Rs 7 lakh under the pretext of helping him expand his business, and also misused his company's data by hacking into the system, police said on Thursday, reported news agency PTI.

The victim runs a hair oil company in Maharashtra's Thane city, they said, adding the crime took place over the last three years.

An Amravati-based couple and their aide from Washim had approached the victim promising to expand his business by setting up its new branches, creating a software and providing trained staff, reported PTI.