JOIN US4 held for cheating customers in online chain link business
Four persons who cheated people through an online chain link business were arrested from Chandra Layout by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police on Friday.
The suspects are Madhukar, 35, a resident of Muneshwara Block, B S Satish, 40, Gajendranagar, B Prashanth, 35, Bapujinagar and Uday Kumar, 21, from Chandra Layout. The police recovered registration forms, vouchers, laptops, computers, television sets, Rs one lakh and other materials, police said.
They were operating Super Royal Holidays India Private Limited, a firm that was into online chain link business, offering domestic and international tour packages. The firm’s office was housed on 9th main road at 1st phase, 2nd stage, Chandra Layout.
Madhukar and Satish were directors, Prashanth was the general manager and Uday Kumar, the receptionist. The four began operations in 2011 and transacted business worth about Rs 55 crore, the police said.
Attractive offers
The suspects would contact citizens online and promise them attractive offers if they enrolled as members with their firm. They would collect Rs 11,000 as membership fee and offer domestic package tour. The newly enrolled members needed to pay Rs 3,500 a couple of weeks before the scheduled tour, police said.
The suspects promised to pay the members Rs 1,000 as commission if they ensured enrolment of two new members.
The members would be eligible for an international package tour upon completing the enrolment of two new members.
However, they needed to pay Rs 15,900 about 45 days before the scheduled tour, the police said.
Allurements
The suspects claimed that if the two newly enrolled members ensured two more enrolments, they would get Rs 1,000 each as commission. They claimed that the first member would get Rs 4,000 as the number of members under him would have gone up to four, police said.
The suspects promised a mobile phone handset to a member if he or she ensured the enrolment of 25 members, a digital camera if the enrolment number crossed 50 and a 22-inch LCD TV if it crossed 100.
The firm assured the members that they would get Rs 35,000 as advance to buy a two-wheeler if the enrolment number crossed 200 and between Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 1.75 lakh to buy a four-wheeler if the number crossed 300, police said.
The police are verifying documents to ascertain the number of people cheated. They police are also looking into whether they had taken permission to run the business.