Big swindle: Teacher cons 14,000 people, rakes in 158 crore

HYDERABAD: A government school teacher, who passed off as CEO of a company floated by one of his students, pulled off a perfect con job by cheating 14,000 people, mostly villagers and farmers, to the tune of 158 crore. Methuku Ravinder, CEO of Sun Pariwar Group of Companies, was arrested on Thursday after a depositor of the multi-crore ponzi scheme approached the Shamirpet police.

This comes close on the heels of the arrest of Nowhere Shaikh, managing director of Heera Group of companies, who also mobilised crores of rupees through various ponzi schemes.

Police also issued orders to freeze 14 crore lying in accounts of the group in various banks in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Police said Ravinder has been buying land with the deposits he had collected. "He had even promised foreign tours to his agents if they reached their 'targets' by getting more number of depositors into his scheme," police said.

Commissioner of police, Cyberabad, VC Sajjanar said 42-year-old Ravinder joined the firm in January this year after going on leave. "As he wanted to make a fast buck, he launched a fake scheme by promising people of 6% returns every month on their investment. At one stage, he offered 72% returns. Customers fell for it and deposited their savings," he said.

Ravinder, who had been working as a Telugu language teacher in upper primary school, Revalli, in Siddipet district, went on leave in June. He worked as a real estate agent with various companies. "During our preliminary probe, we found that he started cheating people since June this year," a police official said. The accused was assisted by relatives and associates in his con job.

It was also found that the bank accounts were not in the company name and were opened on his friends and relatives' names.

Accused taught since ’02

Sun Mutually Aided Thrift and Credit Co-operative Society Ltd was floated by Bangla Shankar in 2015 and Ravinder, who joined the company, launched Methuku Ventures Ltd.

“Not satisfied with the earnings, he had decided to set up his own firm in the name of his close associates and relatives as he was a government employee,” a police official said. Shankar was Ravinder’s student.

Following a complaint from one of the victims who had invested Rs 1 lakh, cops arrested Ravinder from his residence in Sangareddy and booked him under cheating case and relevant sections of AP Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishment Act. Ravinder has been teaching since 2002.