In a major breakthrough, Pauri police in Uttarakhand have busted a massive investment scam worth Rs190 crore, arresting five individuals, including the state head of the fraudulent operation. The gang had created a fake cooperative society, luring hundreds of people across various states with promises of lucrative returns on investments in gold coins, an oil refinery, and foreign investments.
The scam, run by a group of criminals under the guise of a cooperative society named LUCC, targeted people in Dehradun, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi, and Tehri districts of Uttarakhand, as well as several other states. The gang collected Rs1.89 crore from hundreds of unsuspecting victims across the country, promising high returns on investments.
The mastermind of the entire operation, Sameer Agarwal, is a resident of Mumbai. In 2016, Agarwal founded an organization called SAGA and went on to establish six cooperative societies under it, with branches operating in multiple states. Through these fake societies, Agarwal and his associates deceived investors into believing their money would be used for profitable ventures, including gold trading and foreign investments.
However, when the scam was uncovered, Agarwal fled to Dubai, and police are now working to track him down.
The Pauri police arrested five suspects in total, including the head of the fake cooperative society in Uttarakhand. Among those arrested were:
Following the arrests, police have been investigating the scale of the fraud and the involvement of additional suspects. Investigators are focusing on tracking Sameer Agarwal, who is believed to have used sophisticated means to defraud the public, and are liaising with international authorities to locate him in Dubai.
In a related development, the Indian cyber-security agency CERT-In issued a new advisory warning the public about various online scams. Among them is a “digital arrest” scam, in which scammers impersonate government officials and claim that the victim is under investigation for crimes like money laundering. They then demand money or sensitive information from the victim.
The advisory emphasizes that legitimate government agencies will never demand payments over the phone or through video calls and encourages people to verify any such claims directly with the relevant authorities. The CERT-In also warned about common online scams, such as phishing, lottery scams, investment frauds, and cash-on-delivery scams.