Ahmedabad: A businessman from Satellite and his three friends were duped of nearly Rs 4 lakh through a Ponzi scheme where they were promised four times return on their investment.
Ravi Patel, a 50-year-old resident of Silver Flats, told police, “I sell clothes online. I also run multi-level marketing schemes for which I came in touch with Rashid Khan, a resident of Kota in Rajasthan.”
He said that, in October 2021, Khan told him about an MLM scheme run by a firm called Bandhan Trade Marketing. “He claimed that the firm gives 1 to 2% daily interest on investments. On October 28, a man named Ishan Pandey from the firm contacted me. He told me about various schemes in which I could invest anywhere between Rs 500 to Rs 1 lakh. Later, a man who introduced himself as the firm’s owner, Muqammal Hussain, contacted me and sent details of the company as well as the link to its website. Convinced, I invested Rs 25,000 and got around Rs 450 every day initially,” he told police.
Ravi later approached his friends Naresh Nagar, Ghanshyam Patel and K K Syed. He got Nagar to chip in Rs 50,000, Ghanshyam Patel to put in Rs 25,000 and Syed to invest Rs 3 lakh. On November 10, Ravi got a message from Hussain, informing him that the company was in trouble. Patel tried to contact him, but Hussain’s phone was switched off. Later, Patel found that the company’s website was also non-functional. Police have registered a complaint .
Ravi Patel, a 50-year-old resident of Silver Flats, told police, “I sell clothes online. I also run multi-level marketing schemes for which I came in touch with Rashid Khan, a resident of Kota in Rajasthan.”
He said that, in October 2021, Khan told him about an MLM scheme run by a firm called Bandhan Trade Marketing. “He claimed that the firm gives 1 to 2% daily interest on investments. On October 28, a man named Ishan Pandey from the firm contacted me. He told me about various schemes in which I could invest anywhere between Rs 500 to Rs 1 lakh. Later, a man who introduced himself as the firm’s owner, Muqammal Hussain, contacted me and sent details of the company as well as the link to its website. Convinced, I invested Rs 25,000 and got around Rs 450 every day initially,” he told police.
Ravi later approached his friends Naresh Nagar, Ghanshyam Patel and K K Syed. He got Nagar to chip in Rs 50,000, Ghanshyam Patel to put in Rs 25,000 and Syed to invest Rs 3 lakh. On November 10, Ravi got a message from Hussain, informing him that the company was in trouble. Patel tried to contact him, but Hussain’s phone was switched off. Later, Patel found that the company’s website was also non-functional. Police have registered a complaint .
