Jun

8

Money-tripling scheme defrauds communities across India

June 8, 2009 posted by indiatime |

Move over Bernard Madoff, the now famous 50-billion dollar Ponzi fraudster from United States. Ahmedabad’s Manbai Rathod, a 60-year illiterate woman, is now turning out to be the brain behind a smarter financial scam, a scheme that duped tens of thousands all across India. Whereas Madoff promised a steady 10%-plus return, Manbai Rathod and her nephew promised a whopping 300% return over investment. And unlike Madoff, the Indian scamsters told investors to come back and collect their tripled wealth in days or weeks. What’s more, they delivered. For a while, that is.

Manbai Rathod and her nephew Ashok Jadeja are now the prime accused behind an investment scam that is said to have reached incredible proportions. Says The Times of the fraudulent scheme that lured many people across India,

…While some pawned jewellery and valuables, others halted construction of their dream house, some took a large sum on loan while others cheated on their husbands to lay their hands on some money….

The ‘money-tripling’ scheme initially targeted specific communities, Chharas and Sansis, promising them unimaginable riches. People from these communities were told that Sikodar Goddess (Sikodar Devi Mata) had blessed one Ashok Jadeja who was now willing to share the secret with the people from these communities. Soon, tipsters tipped the scale with people within and from outside these communities taking the goddess’s blessings way too seriously and handing over their bank accounts. With promises of their money doubling, tripling and quadrupling, gullibles all across the country gave in to their greed, pouring everything they had into Ashok Jadeja’s investment fund. The skeptics saw their neighbors doubling and tripling their monies in weeks and they too then, turned eager gullibles, pawning their smarts for the moneymaking opportunity of a lifetime.

Jadeja’s scheme was much simpler than his Wall Street counterparts, however. Jadeja and his wife sat outside a temple and financial devotees lined up and handed him their life savings. The devotees then came back after a few days to collect their now-doubled or tripled wealth. The easy money-tripling scheme spread like wildfire across many Indian states, from the western shores of Gujarat all the way to the eastern islands of Andaman and Nicobar, including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh. Investors from Pakistan got into the act as well, expanding Jadeja’s reach beyond India’s borders.

Those smart-alecs who actually did manage to double their money and did not reinvest back into the scam, their riches will soon be confiscated by India’s police who are now going through fraudster Jadeja’s lists.

You would think all those devotees and victims who succumbed to the Sikodar Goddess financial scandal, would now be crying prayers to Goddess Kali, hoping that the famed demon-killer vanquish Rathod, Jadeja and their buddies. Instead, many of the scam victims - men, women and children, recently attempted mass suicide by sleeping on the railway tracks.


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4 Comments so far

  1. harish on June 8, 2009 4:05 pm

    These people will go to prison for a couple of years at the most. They will pay the police and the judges off and get away with light sentences. If murdering criminals can become top ministers and parliament members, then financial scam artists should also get equal respect.

  2. Light on June 8, 2009 10:31 pm

    There is a photo of Sharukh Khan. Was he playing fraudulent aunts role.?;-))

  3. Devender Parmar on June 9, 2009 12:51 am

    I swear! I get angry at this! Damn, people work hard all their lives and get a decent house, and these people just earn crores of ruppees just like that! :o :o Why?

  4. Vinoy on June 9, 2009 3:21 pm

    So long as there are fools, there would be Bernard Madoffs, Manbais,Jadejas et al!

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