Multi-level marketing racket busted

Three people were arrested here Tuesday for allegedly cheating the public and an illegal multi-level marketing racket running to Rs 100 crore unearthed, police said.

They said J Kanthaiah and two others along with several other absconding accused allegedly cheated over 1,550 customers from different states on the pretext of providing high commission for processing groundnuts into oil, they said.

The accused started multi-level marketing business M/s Green Gold Biotech in December 2017 and introduced different schemes, police said.

They also sold members and customers oil extraction machines besides giving them raw groundnuts for extraction of oil.

They offered to pay amounts ranging from Rs 10,000 as allowance and Rs 5,000 respectively for job work for a period of 24 months, according to police.

For promoting the multi-level marketing, the accused engaged agents also, police said.

With the business expanding to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra, the firm got deposits of about Rs 18 crore in 2018, police said, adding it initially paid the members but later allegedly failed to do so.

A case under relevant sections of the IPC, the Prize Chits And Money Circulation Schemes Act and Telangana Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishment Act was registered against the accused.

Police also seized property worth Rs 5 crore from the possession of the accused.