Noida: Three arrested for cheating many after floating a ponzi scheme

Noida: Three persons were arrested on Thursday in connection with a ponzi scheme in Noida’s Sector 20. The suspects had floated a fictitious company – My Grow Life

Noida: Three persons were arrested on Thursday in connection with a ponzi scheme in Noida’s Sector 20. The suspects had floated a fictitious company – My Grow Life – and sought ₹11,000 as investment from individuals on the promise that they would be paid ₹300 per day for one year.

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However, after collecting the money from several people, the suspects, identified as Gokul Bansal, Anil Sharma and Pramod Verma, fled.

On Wednesday, a complaint was filed at the Sector 20 police station by Jitendra Chauhan, a resident of Surajpur in Greater Noida. The complainant said he came in contact with Bansal, who introduced him to the two others at an office in Sector 18 market. “Bansal introduced himself as CEO while Sharma and Verma said they were directors of the company. They shared the investment plan with me and asked me to pay ₹11,000 per ID. They promised me ₹300 per day for the next 300 days on each ID,” the complainant said.

He said the investment offer appeared lucrative and he paid ₹77,000 for seven IDs. “They paid me ₹6,000, in instalments, and then the payments stopped. I tried to contact them but their phones were switched off. Later, I visited their office in Sector 18 and found it closed,” Chauhan said.

The complainant said just once, he was able to contact one of the suspects on phone. “They threatened me with dire consequences if kept demanding my money back,” he said.

Shwetabh Pandey, circle officer, Noida 1, said the suspects had been operating for around a year from the rented premises in Sector 18. “They had shut the office and fled after a complaint was filed. The Noida police on Thursday managed to arrest the three suspects,” he said.

Pandey said the suspects had also sought ₹55,000 in investments from a few others on the promise of higher returns. “We are yet to ascertain the total number of investors they duped and how much money they had collected fraudulently. So far, police have received 15 complaints against the suspects. We will club all complaints in this investigation,” he said.

Rajveer Singh Chauhan, station house officer, Sector 20 police station, said a case has been registered against them under Section 420 (cheating), Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and Section 507 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC against the suspects. They were produced in the court and sent to judicial custody.