Prabhat Kumar Nahak, a youth from Koraput, Odisha, has allegedly defrauded over 20 businessmen across the country to the tune of Rs200 crore by luring them into a fraudulent electric vehicle franchise scheme. Nahak posed as an official from various electric vehicle brands and convinced entrepreneurs from Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh to invest in franchise registrations for electric vehicle showrooms.
The scam involved Nahak asking for dealer registration charges with promises of awarding franchise rights. However, after receiving the money, the businesses never received the electric vehicles or their dealership rights, leading the victims to realize they had been duped.
Victims, including Lokesh Bhandari, a businessman from Uttar Pradesh, filed complaints with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Bhubaneswar, and authorities have launched an investigation into the case.