Thousands of investors were left in the lurch after the management of a jewellery firm in the Ramdev Park area of Mira Road suddenly closed down their establishment and made away with crores of rupees by floating bogus cashback schemes on the purchase of moissanite stones and gems, which later turned out to be fake.
The firm- Torres which boasted of being one of the largest jewellery houses in India was headquartered in Dadar having a chain of grand showrooms housed in rented spaces in areas including- Grant Road, Navi-Mumbai, Kalyan and Mira Road. To the shock of investors in Mira Road, the establishment which was operational till Sunday (5, January) never opened on Monday. People thronged the showroom in Mira Road after learning that they had been scammed. All other branches and the headquarters in Dadar had also reportedly closed down.
As per their modus-operandi, the scamsters lured investors by floating a fake scheme envisaging purchase of moissanite stones and gems with an assured 11 percent weekly cashback on the purchase value for the next one year (52 weeks). A person investing Rs.1 lakh was assured Rs.11,000 a weekly cash back for next 52 weeks which translated into a whopping 400 percent profit amounting Rs.5.72 lakh in a year. The amount of money lost by investors could run into crores. Apart from conducting interactive sessions and giving away expensive prizes, the firm had launched a massive social media campaign to lure potential investors. “Based on a complaint received two days ago we had initiated investigations; however, the showroom was found to be closed. While the process was underway to register an offence at the Navghar police station.” said DCP ( Zone I)- Prakash Gaikwad. “I invested all my savings amounting Rs.2.5 lakh, but after receiving pay-outs for a couple of months via direct bank transfer, I stopped receiving money. When I came here today to enquire, the showroom was shut and all employees had fled. I am shattered.” said Sahil Usmani, a resident of Kashimira who works as a delivery-boy with an e-commerce company.
The company also offered a 20 percent referral bonus to existing investors. Notably, the firm had posted the video of a prize distribution ceremony on its official Instagram account on Sunday. Meanwhile the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police has managed to freeze accounts in which a certain amount of money had been parked, the exact figures were yet to be ascertained, sources revealed.
Officials attached to the economic offences wing (EOW) also visited Torres’s showroom in Mira Road on Monday.
