Emu farm MD gets 10 years RI for Rs 7.61 crore fraud involving 385 investors

The scheme was promoted through its branch near the Five Roads signal in Salem.

The convict, MS Guru alias Gurusamy (46), was the managing director of Susi Emu Farms India Private Limited, headquartered at Perundurai in Erode district. Representative image

COIMBATORE: A special court for cases under the Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors (TNPID) Act in Coimbatore on Friday sentenced the managing director of an emu farming company to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for defrauding 385 investors to the tune of Rs 7.61 crore.

The convict, MS Guru alias Gurusamy (46), was the managing director of Susi Emu Farms India Private Limited, headquartered at Perundurai in Erode district. He resided at Sakthi Nagar in Kunnathur, Perundurai. Special Judge M N Senthil Kumar handed down the sentence to Guru following a decade-long trial.

In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a fine of Rs 7, 89,25,000 on the company and its director, of which Rs 7.89 crore is to be proportionately distributed among the duped investors, according to Special Public Prosecutor K Muthu Vijayan.

The case dates back to 2012 when the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Salem district registered an FIR against the company and its MD. Investigations revealed that Gurusamy had launched the firm in 2010, operating out of Raja Street in Perundurai, and promoted fraudulent investment schemes under the guise of emu farming.

The company offered a so-called 'VIP-I' scheme, in which investors were asked to pay Rs 1.5 lakh with the assurance of Rs 7,000 per month as ‘maintenance’ charges, along with the promise of returning the principal after two years. The firm also claimed it would handle all aspects of rearing emu chicks. The scheme was promoted through its branch near the Five Roads signal in Salem.

The fraud came to light when one of the investors, P Prakasam, lodged a complaint after the promised Rs 7,000 payments stopped in August 2012. Based on his complaint, the EOW in Salem registered a case under the TNPID Act.

After a detailed trial, the court found the accused guilty under Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 5 of the TNPID Act (default in repayment of deposits).

Gurusamy was sentenced to seven years’ RI under Section 420, three years under Section 406, and 10 years under the TNPID Act. The sentences will run concurrently. The court also ruled that any period of detention already undergone by the accused in connection with the case shall be set off against the total sentence.