Cuttack, Sep 1 (PTI) A 64-year-old man was arrested in Odisha on Monday for defrauding about 200 people by enrolling them in a chain marketing scheme through a mobile app with the promise of a good return on their investments, police said.
The accused was identified as Partha Sarathi Das, a resident of Chandipur in Balasore district, they said.
Cuttack’s DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said Das collected a registration fee of Rs 16,500 from each person he enrolled through the ‘Huge App’.
Initially, some people received good returns, and upon their persuasion, others also joined, he said.
Those who were able to enrol more people were getting higher incentives, he added.
On August 15, some members were supposed to receive their money, but they were told that they had to deposit an additional Rs 4,950 towards annual maintenance charges.
Many people deposited this amount through the app, but four days later, the app suddenly stopped functioning, the DCP said.
Eventually, the investors understood that they were defrauded, and a complaint was registered at the Cuttack cyber police station on August 28, he said.
“During the investigation, we found that similar fraud has been reported in the rural areas of the district. Our cyber team initiated a technical analysis and identified the accused person. He was arrested from Chandipur in Balasore,” the officer said.
A total of Rs 68,000 in cash was seized, and a bank account having Rs 2.51 lakh was frozen, he said.
Earlier, another accused in the case was arrested from the Tangi area of the district. PTI BBM BBM SOM
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