Meerut: A team of Meerut Police’s crime branch on Thursday arrested a Ghaziabad-based man, who along with his associates duped thousands of gullible investors of Delhi-NCR and several other states to the tune of Rs 250-300 crore through various ponzi schemes by promising “huge returns.” The crime branch sleuths arrested Pradeep Singhal from Muradnagar area of Ghaziabad.Police said that the accused floated several unregistered companies between 2013 and 2017 and cheated thousands of people. The officials, who obtained bank details of one of the companies, Astonish Digital Advertising Services, found crores in just this firm's accounts collected through the schemes in 18 months ending December 2017. But now these accounts had no amounts left in them.Speaking to TOI, superintendent of police (crime), Meerut, Shivram Yadav said, “Here we are talking about just one company. There are eight others whose details we are trying to gather. By these nine companies the promoters also helped hoarders of old currency notes. Post demonetization, they exchanged these banned notes through their bank accounts at hefty commission."Yadav added: "Though, it will take some time to calculate the exact amount of the ponzy scheme fraud and the currency exchanged, we estimate that the volume should not be anything less than Rs 250-300 crores.”According to police, these companies projected themselves as facilitators for increasing views of commercial websites.A membership fee ranging from Rs 10,000 to 15,000 was charged from people who were encouraged to bring their friends too.Apart from that, foreign trips and luxury cars were also promised to the best performers. A few events were organised in different states where new luxury cars were procured on rent from showrooms and “best performers” were handed over the keys. They never got the cars though.As of now, 10 accused are absconding, including two women.An FIR has been filed against them under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 467 (document forgery), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public officials including bankers), and relevant sections of The Prize and Chit Fund Money Circulation Scheme Act 1978.According to cyber crime official Umesh Verma, “We have arrested Pradeep Singhal, a resident of Muradnagar area of Ghaziabad. Singhal, along with Sanjay Tyagi, Pradeep Chaudhary and his wife Neha Chaudhary -- all residents of Ghaziabad-- and some others developed software for these companies and defrauded thousands.”The case came to the fore when Sushil Tyagi, one of the victims and a resident of Meerut, approached police in this connection and filed a case.

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