Hyderabad businesswoman duped of Rs. 2.8 crore by brother promising high returns

Hyderabad: A case was filed against six individuals after a 60-year-old businesswoman complained to the police that she was deceived into investing Rs. 2.8 crore in a fake coffee powder manufacturing company. They promised her high returns on her investments.

In 2019, one of the accused persons, who is the victim's brother, and his wife approached her with an investment opportunity. They convinced her that she will get a 4 percent monthly return on her investment. Explaining the business modality, they told her that the money would be invested in a coffee powder manufacturing company based in Kenya and its opening a new branch in the United States.

To further convince the businesswoman, her brother allegedly showed pictures and videos of popular Jamaican cricketer Chris Gayle and told her that the cricketer is promoting the business.

The accused did not stop there. He even claimed that the owner of the company is known to them and one of the accused will soon join as a partner in the company, according to reports.

Eventually, the businesswoman trusted her brother and invested Rs. 2.8 crore in the alleged Keny-based coffee powder manufacturing company. She also encouraged others to try this business model. Her family and friends invested Rs. 2.2 crore while others invested Rs. 70 lakh, bringing the total investment to Rs. 5.7 crore.

The investors started believing the business to be legit as they received the promised returns. Later, the payments were abruptly stopped, forcing her sister to question her brother. He abused his sister for asking details about their investments. So far, the victims have received only 90 lakh in returns.