Cooperative society uses names of actors to lure, dupe investors
A multi-state credit and thrift cooperative society operating in Uttar Pradesh allegedly used the names of Bollywood actors to promote its schemes and win public trust, thus duping unsuspecting investors. A case in point is Lucknow's adjoining district Hardoi, where the society allegedly used the name of actor Shreyas Talpade to attract investors. The actor's name was also mentioned in the FIR filed at Shahabad police station on June 7 (Saturday), after the society allegedly disappeared with crores of rupees collected from investors, authorities said.
According to inspector, Shahbad police station, Brijesh Rai, local agent of the society Amar Singh filed an FIR against 16 people, including Talpade, under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (fraud), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 504 (insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the old Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Fifteen accused named in the FIR include Ram Rajput, Gaurav Verma. Krishna Dixit, Faheemullah Khan, Raziullah Khan, Sanat Rajput, Uttam Kumar Singh, Samir Agarwal and his wife Sania Agarwal, Mumbai-based fund manager RK Shetty, Sanjay Mudgal, Pankaj Agarwal, Shahab Hashim and Zulfikar Ahmad, Rai said.
However, according to the inspector, initial investigation suggested that Shreyas Talpade had nothing to do with the society. He said the society operators would claim association with Bollywood actors to attract investors. They had also used the name of another Bollywood actor Alok Nath, which was also mentioned in a separate FIR lodged in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar Extension police station.
In his complaint, Amar Singh stated that the society initially offered him the role of centre manager for its Hardoi unit and lured him into investing family funds in return for attractive returns. Believing the claims, Singh said he helped raise over ₹1 crore from friends, relatives, and others since 2022. He said the society operators insulted him and threatened him with dire consequences when he asked them to return the money on the completion of its maturity period.
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