EOW arrests techie in multi-crore cheating case

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) made its first arrest in a multicrore cheating case involving non-banking financial companies, Red Carpet Finance and Red Carpet Entertainment, on Friday.
 

    According to the police, these firms duped unsuspecting investors promising astronomical returns on 

investment.  “People who invested Rs 3,500 in a scheme were promised a return of Rs 10,500 in two years,” said a senior police officer.  “The companies told investors that their money would be used to finance movies,” he added.  In March, office-bearers of the firms were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act.
 

    “The arrested accused, Kishore Verma (38), developedsoftwareanddatastorage packages for Red Carpet Finance and Red Carpet Entertainment. Our investigations are on,” said Rajvardhan Sinha, additional police commissioner with the EOW. 

    “Verma is a director of Smart Software MLM Solutions Pvt Ltd, which designs software for multi-level marketing companies,” saidasenior police officer. “We have asked victims of the con to come forward and lodge complaints, this will give us a clear picture of the extent of the scam,” he added.
 

    Pamphlets, containing photos of actors performing at an event organized by Red Carpet Entertainment, have been seized. “We will verify whether the actors attended programmes or if the images are morphed,” said a senior EOW officer.
 

Investment Con
• Non-banking financial companies Red Carpet Finance and Red Carpet Entertainment duped unsuspecting investors by promising astronomical returns

• More than 3,000 investors from Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, West Bengal and Punjab fell prey to the schemes, the police said

• Investors were told that their money would be used to finance movies

The Times of India, June 30, 2012