The Jnana Bharathi police have registered a cheating case against a software engineer and his family for allegedly duping hundreds of people across the city in an investment scam.
Sanjeev Patil, DCP West, said Patel Anand had floated a chit fund company, Ashiwarya Lakshmi, offering people a monthly interest for every ₹1 lakh they invested. Anand allegedly assured clients that he was putting their money in real-estate businesses and was making a huge margin of profits which he would share with them.
Hundreds of people deposited money in his firm and were getting returns regularly till February this year. Once the pandemic hit, depositors stopped getting their returns and were unable to claim the principal amount invested with the firm.
Based on a complaint filed by a resident of Basaveshwarnagar, the police have charged Anand, his wife and two daughters, who were part of the firm, as well as four employees with cheating.
