COIMBATORE: A Special Court of TNPID (Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors in financial establishments) Act cases on Friday sentenced a couple to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for cheating 244 depositors of Rs 3.95 crore by running an emu and poultry farm. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.44 crore on them.
Muniyan (47) and his wife Mariyammal (45) of Perundurai in Erode started emu and poultry farms at Erode in 2012, and announced two one-year Ponzi schemes. In the first scheme, if a person invests Rs 1 lakh, the firm would set up a shed and give four chicks and feeds. Investors were promised to get Rs 10,000 for monthly maintenance and Rs 20,000 yearly incentive. Through both the schemes, the couple collected Rs 3,95,72,000 from 224 investors, but did not keep up their word.
One of the investors N Kumar (35) from Kesari Mangalam near Bhavani, on August 28, 2012, took the issue to Economic Offences Wing, who registered a case against the couple and 9 staff under criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating sections and section 5 of the TNPID act. Eleven including staff were arrested and police submitted the charge sheet against them on January 17, 2013, and February 7, 2014.
On Friday, Judge AS Ravi sentenced Muniyan and Mariyammal to 10 years imprisonment and the staff were acquitted. The court issued an arrest warrant against Mariyammal as she failed to appear before the court. Muniyan was earlier sentenced to seven years imprisonment in connection with another Emu case in 2017.