Bhubaneswar, May 28 (Agency) The Economic Offences Wing, Odisha Crime Branch has arrested one accused, the Managing Director of a Ponzi company, for cheating Rs.50 crore from investors in the state EOW sources here on Tuesday said accused Mohan Kumar Parida was arrested on May 28 from Chandbali under section 406/420/467/468/471/120-B IPC, Sec. 4/5/6/ PCMCS (Banning) Act, Sec.6 of OPID Act r/w Sec.66a IT Act. He will be produced before the Court of PO, Designated Court under OPID Act, Cuttack on Tuesday The case was registered on the written allegation of one Chitta Ranjan Palo of Kalinga Nagar, Bhubaneswar against the Company M/s Way to Add India Pvt. Ltd. and its Managing Director Mohan Kumar Parida and others. Polo had alleged that Mohan and others have induced him and many other investors to pay high returns on the invested amount apart from promising different bonuses and commission under different schemes floated by the Company.
Being induced, during the year 2023, Polo had deposited Rs.44.60 lakhs in total and initially got the return of Rs.12,600 but after that, no amount was paid to him by the accused Director Mohan Kumar Parida who cheated his invested amount like many others in respect of crores of rupees. Mohan Kumar Parida is the MD of M/s Way to Add India (P) Ltd. The other Director of the Company is his wife Pushpalata Behura. EOw sources said during the period 2020-23, Mohan had floated different schemes like the Autopool package, and boosting package and induced the members of the public to invest with the Company through its two schemes with a hefty return of 26 percent per month consecutively for three months on the invested amount. Besides, there was also a bonus of 2 percent for the investors for enrolling new members. Under scheme one, one is required to join the scheme by depositing Rs.2500, which is non-refundable. After depositing the amount, the investor would be given one login ID under which he can further enroll three persons to get more commission/bonus.
The EOW sources further said during the investigation, it was found that the accused, to win the confidence of the investors, made some initial return to the investors but after collection of more than Rs.50 Crore from 2000 investors from Odisha he abruptly closed the schemes and the Company office and fled away with the collected amount. The company was running a Ponzi scheme in a pyramidic binary structure. The Company was not authorized to take any public deposit either by RBI or SEBI. However, the Company cunningly did not issue any money receipt rather asking the investors to deposit the invested amount in the Company accounts. During the investigation, many incriminating clues arrived, and a laptop containing many incriminating materials like a list of investors, the amount invested, and a payment sheet seized. The investigation of the case is on, EOW sources said.