What Was The Torres Jewellery Scam?
Torres Fraud is a Ponzi and multi-level marketing fraud which deceives investors by promising high returns on investments in jewellery. In a Ponzi scheme, people are promised high returns, which are initially paid using money from new participants. Similarly, in MLMs, quick earnings are promised through product sales, but the main focus is on recruiting new members. New joiners pay a fee, and the top-level members earn the most from it.
The following points will help you to understand the case of Torres Jewellery scam:-
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Company Background: Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd. was incorporated in April 2023 in six locations across Maharashtra Torres-owned jewellery showrooms.
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Investment Promises: To foster people’s confidence in the purchase of moissanite stones and jewellery, weekly returns of 3-7% were offered in the first weeks of business.
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Fraudulent Approach: The scheme worked by investing money from new investors to pay earlier ones and grew quickly before closing in December of 2024.
What Schemes Were Used To Trap Investors?
It had multiple high-interest investment schemes and tended to give the customers the impression that they were sure to earn enormous profits.
Investment Plans:
Referral Bonuses:
- Others used referral bonuses as well as other incentive prices such as cars, houses and jewellery to attract other investors.
Lavish Seminars:
- To achieve its credibility, seminars were conducted in some of the most elegant environments possible to attract the interest of potential investors.
Read More: Beware Of Fake Emails Promising e-PAN Card Downloads
How Did The Fraud Surface?
The scam surfaced when the company failed to make its payouts and investors immediately flagged it.
Delayed Payments:
- While some participants saw nothing unusual, others were concerned when no payout followed in November 2024 and the approximate promised amounts were again incremented.
Company Shutdown:
- Employees told some investors that the company shut its operations on January 6, 2025.
Whistleblower Actions:
- Pradip Kumar Vaishya, a vegetable vendor was among the first to complain of the fraud when he realised that ₹ 4.55 crores had been embezzled. His FIR led to other investigations being made as well.
What Legal Actions Have Been Taken?
The police have filed multiple FIRs and arrested key individuals associated with the scam.
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Arrests Made: The counting store incharges of general manager Taniya Xasatova director Sarvesh Ashok Surve and store in charge Valentina Kumar were arrested.
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Look Out Circulars: Notices were issued for CEO Tausif Reyaz and Director Victoria Kovalenko, who are currently absconding.
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International Links: The scam involved foreigners; a man from Ukraine is believed to be behind a similar con in Turkey.
Read More: How To Report Cybercrime And Online Fraud In India?
Who Were The Whistleblowers?
The CEO, who is along with some other people, said that they have unearthed some fraudulent practices in the financial arena and is still under the radar of suspicion.
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Claims of Evidence Submission: CEO Reya and others- Director, Surender; CA Abhishek Gupta lodged a report through FIR No 300-300 of 2015, which was a 154-page report on the irregularities that were observed by them.
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Ongoing Investigations: While Gupta claimed to be under police protection, Reyaz himself is not visible to the public as he has received threats.
Conclusion
The Torres Jewellery case is a perfect example of how life becomes if people do not pin down investment frauds that promise high risk-reward ratios. This fraud which affected many investors requiring thousands of dollars to invest illustrates the need to enhance regulators' scrutiny. Although officials are probing the incident, this situation is quite a wake-up call to people who should check the authenticity of the account before they invest.
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