Actors held in fraud case

 Malayalam film actor Dhanya Mary Varghese and husband John Jacob, also an actor and real estate businessman, were arrested from Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu on charges of fraud, amounting to Rs 130-crore.

The fraud was conducted through Jacob’s company Samson and Sons Builders and Developers.

The police said the accused had collected about Rs 100 crore from customers since 2011, agreeing to deliver about 500 flats in nine apartment projects and 20 villas in Thiruvananthapuram in two years.

Further, they borrowed Rs 30 crore from investors, offering them high rates of interest. Police started investigating the allegations of fraud, even as more customers started filing complaints on the non-delivery of the projects. Affected customers had also started a citizens’ initiative to expose the fraud.

Jacob is the managing director of the company. His brother and director of the company, Samuel Jacob, was also arrested from Nagercoil. Jacob Samson, their father and chairman of the company, was arrested in October.

Following complaints of fraud at the Peroorkada police station, the case was taken over by the Crime Branch.