KALYAN: The police have registered a case against the management director of S Kumar Gold and Diamonds, Shreekumar Pillai, and are searching for him for cheating investors by not returning their investments running into crores of rupees along with interest on the date of maturity.
This is the third case in the recent past where jewellers have collected money from the public promising attractive returns but reneged on their promise. The police had arrested owners of Goodwin Jewelers and VGN Jewelers for perpetrating a similar fraud, and they are still in jail.
All the three jewelers were popular among the Malayali community.
Pillai, who has multiple branches across the country, duped investors in Kalyan by promising them 15% to 18% interest per month, said the police. They said 24 investors had alleged that Pillai duped them of Rs 1.56 crore. They said they expect more complaints and the amount is likely to run into crores.
To attract investors, the jeweler on several occasions invited film celebrities and politicians for business promotion.
The police said the jeweler lured customers by offering various investment plans. In one scheme, a client had to pay Rs 1,000 for 24 months and was promised Rs 28,000 or gold jewelery of equivalent value. In another scheme 15% to 18% annual interest on deposits with a duration of a year to five years was offered.
The police learn that the owner shut his shop at Shivaji Chowk in Kalyan (West) and fled with all the valuables, just like the other two jewellers.
The jeweller’s website says that the brand started out nearly 40 years ago as a textile showroom in Mulund. “Today, we have diversified into travels, logistics, and gold business across four states in India with over 300 employees and 8 lakh customers,” it says. The website says the company started in 2012 and has 13 showrooms in the country.
This is the third case in the recent past where jewellers have collected money from the public promising attractive returns but reneged on their promise. The police had arrested owners of Goodwin Jewelers and VGN Jewelers for perpetrating a similar fraud, and they are still in jail.
All the three jewelers were popular among the Malayali community.
Pillai, who has multiple branches across the country, duped investors in Kalyan by promising them 15% to 18% interest per month, said the police. They said 24 investors had alleged that Pillai duped them of Rs 1.56 crore. They said they expect more complaints and the amount is likely to run into crores.
To attract investors, the jeweler on several occasions invited film celebrities and politicians for business promotion.
The police said the jeweler lured customers by offering various investment plans. In one scheme, a client had to pay Rs 1,000 for 24 months and was promised Rs 28,000 or gold jewelery of equivalent value. In another scheme 15% to 18% annual interest on deposits with a duration of a year to five years was offered.
The police learn that the owner shut his shop at Shivaji Chowk in Kalyan (West) and fled with all the valuables, just like the other two jewellers.
The jeweller’s website says that the brand started out nearly 40 years ago as a textile showroom in Mulund. “Today, we have diversified into travels, logistics, and gold business across four states in India with over 300 employees and 8 lakh customers,” it says. The website says the company started in 2012 and has 13 showrooms in the country.
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