Jaipur Rural Police on Saturday arrested a father-son duo, Lokesh Joshi (48) and Nikhil Joshi (22), for allegedly masterminding a multi-crore Ponzi scheme disguised as a stock market investment company.
According to SP Anand Sharma, multiple complaints were filed against the accused, who lured dozens of victims with promises of sky-high returns within 45 days. Instead of legitimate trading, they ran a classic money-rotation scam — using money from new investors to pay “profits” to earlier ones.
What began as a small investment group in 2022 soon spiraled into a large-scale scam. Lokesh, a former fast-food vendor burdened by COVID-era debts, joined forces with his son Nikhil, a Class 12 student dabbling in options trading. Leveraging Nikhil’s early success, they built trust among local investors.
They used the ill-gotten gains to fund a lavish lifestyle — purchasing luxury cars like BMWs and Jaguars, flaunting gold jewelry, expensive bikes, and even constructing a four-storey mansion in Phulera. Their social media was flooded with reels showcasing extravagant parties and “trading profits”, further attracting unsuspecting investors.
By early 2024, the scheme unraveled when they stopped returning funds. The duo vanished after locking up their office and rented house in Anu Vihar Colony. Police say they swindled crores from victims across Phulera and even Kishangarh in Ajmer.
The investigation is ongoing to determine the full extent of the fraud and to recover assets purchased with investor money.
