KOCHI: The police have registered a new case against Thrissur-based Highrich Online Shoppe for allegedly cheating an Aluva resident by offering high returns while accepting investment from him. Highrich -- facing multiple probes by the police, state GST department and the Enforcement Directorate -- was engaged in a money-chain model business for the past several years.
The complainant first approached the Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court which directed the police to register a case and carry out an investigation. Subsequently, a case was registered at the Aluva police station recently. The accused in the case are Highrich managing directors K D Prathapan and Shreena Prathapan and a company promoter named Shemeena Naseer. The case has been registered for cheating and criminal breach of trust.
“The complainant alleged that between September 5 and 13 he invested Rs 9 lakh in Highrich Online Shoppe. He was told that by investing Rs 5 lakh he would get Rs 50 lakh in two years. The profit was offered in parts, on a monthly basis. However, neither the profit nor the invested amount was received. We registered the case on Friday and the investigation is in the preliminary stage,” a police officer said.
Last month, the Kerala government had decided to refer the police cases against Highrich to the CBI. Currently, 19 police cases have been registered against the firm for cheating several persons. Apart from that, Prathapan was arrested by the state GST department last year for tax evasion. The Enforcement Directorate has also registered a money laundering case against the firm.
The preliminary assumption is that Highrich collected Rs 3,141 crore from investors for online shopping, cryptocurrency and OTT businesses.
The money collected from investors is redistributed to members as an incentive or commission in a typical Ponzi scheme format.
