Online fraudsters who defrauded a Kasaragod merchant navy sailor of nearly Rs 2 crore duped the spouse of a Defence Ministry official in New Delhi.
Divya Joshi (name changed), in her 40s, lost Rs 5 lakh in the same fraudulent trading app called Gem VG and to the same set of people, identifying themselves as 'professor' and 'manager' in an advisory WhatsApp group, and 'assistant' Uma Bannerjee. Joshi lost her money in seven to eight transactions in May and June. She said she knew another group member who lost Rs 1.3 crore.
The scammers duped her using the name of Gemway Assets, a France-based foreign portfolio investor (FPI) registered with India's market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). "I had saved the money for my son's education," she said.
Joshi contacted Onmanorama after reading about the Kasaragod sailor who lost Rs 1.94 crore. The report was published on July 13. If the sailor Prabhas KB (name changed) of Kasaragod was defrauded with the promise of exorbitant profits, Joshi was threatened with legal action and arrest by the scammers to force her to invest more in the fraudulent trading app. Both felt they were blackmailed by the fraudsters. "I could relate to the sailor's situation. I was not sleeping or eating. My husband could feel something was wrong with me. But I did not have the courage to tell him," she said.
'I had Rs 50,000 to spare'
Joshi was browsing the internet to learn how to invest in stocks when she came across an ad on her Facebook. "I had Rs 50,000 to spare," said the Army wife.
But she was found by the 'professor' who used the name Raneet Sadh and the 'manager' Vasath Palanisamy of Gem VG. They added her to a WhatsApp advisory group called 'Stock Market Elite 421' at the end of March, just like the sailor. The group members were praising the 'professor' for helping them make huge profits. After observing for over a month, she was approached by the professor's assistant Uma Bannerjee. She sent her the link to Gemway Assets.
To be sure, FPIs such as Gemway Assets invest in stocks, bonds, and other securities in foreign countries. In India, FPIs are regulated by SEBI, but that investment route is unavailable to resident citizens.
However, fraudsters use the screenshot of the SEBI page where the FPI is listed to convince their victims that it has the approval of the market regulator. At the time of introducing a trading app to the victims, the fraudsters would send a link to a namesake app.
Joshi said 'assistant' Uma Bannerjee asked her to download three apps - GemEuro, FraGemway and GemVG. Joshi was initially asked to opt for AI (artificial intelligence) trading on GemVG. The fraudsters allowed her to make some money to win her trust in the scam app. Then she was asked to buy IPOs. "I was mentally harassed to press the IPO button on the app. Once I did that, they said I should pay Rs 1.70 lakh," she said.
When she refused to pay, she was threatened with arrest for breach of contract -- both civil and criminal. They sent her fabricated sections from corporate laws, falsely stating that she was liable to pay up to 7 per cent of the "liquidated damages" and criminally liable to face three to 10 years in prison for violating the contract. They also said her record of default would be reported to the "securities brokers' joint credit system"
Joshi paid the money and the profit on the trading app showed Rs 23 lakh. "Then I made the mistake of telling them I want to withdraw the money," she said. They asked her to pay another Rs 3 lakh to withdraw her profit.
A mentally harassed Joshi was sending the money to the bank accounts of Piyush Agencies (SBI) in Bhusawal in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, Goud Food Enterprises (SBI) in Kanadiya in Madhya Pradesh, SM Enterprise (IndusInd Bank) at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas, SM Enterprise (Federal Bank) at Garia in South 24 Parganas, and Shree Ji Enterprises (ICICI Bank) at Shambhupura, a village in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh district. These were the same accounts to which the merchant navy sailor also transferred money.
Joshi was made to add these beneficiaries to her bank account and then transfer the money. She neither had a demat account nor a trading account linked to her bank account, two prerequisites for doing online trading in stocks.
On realising she was being duped, she checked the phone numbers of the other members in the advisory WhatsApp group and found that most of them did not exist or were turned off. She pleaded with the professor to return the Rs 5 lakh she invested else she would be in trouble.
The professor replied saying if she wanted her money back as soon as possible, "Do as I say. Don't engage in meaningless debates". Otherwise, her account would be frozen and her money "will be used for charity by legal channels", he texted her.
When she put her foot down and refused to pay, he texted: "If you don't pay, we will hire the best lawyers to sue you".
In February SEBI flagged these trading scams. "Fraudsters, posing as employees or affiliates of SEBI, are enticing victims through online trading courses, seminars, and mentorship programmes in the stock market, leveraging social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram, as well as live broadcasts," it said and asked investors to stay clear of social media messages claiming to facilitate stock market access through FPIs or FIIs registered with SEBI. "Such schemes are fraudulent and do not have SEBI's endorsement," the market regulator said.
Tuesday evening, Joshi mustered up the courage to share her ordeal with her husband. She filed a complaint with Delhi police on Wednesday.
