Mumbai Crime: Couple dupes house help with fake investment scheme

James Kutten has been arrested in connection with the case. Victims who fell prey, confront James Kutten.

A couple has been booked for allegedly duping several people who work as house helps by promising them high returns on their investments under the pretext of a new investment scheme for the poor during the COVID-19 pandemic. The police arrested the husband, James Kutten, while his wife Jackeline has not been arrested because she has a small child to take care of.

According to police sources, Velankani Chetti, 31, who worked as a house help for the Kuttens at their Malad West house since November last year, is one of the complainants. Chetti alleged that the duo, in November 2020, told her that they started a scheme for house helps during the pandemic wherein the couple will provide the investors with coupons to get ration including groceries and toiletries for two months for an investment of Rs 500.

Chetti informed her in-laws and neighbours about the same and gave the couple Rs 500 for her family and Rs 14,000 for some of her relatives and in-laws. After getting the ration the first month, Chetti and others started trusting the couple and began spreading the word about the scheme among their acquaintances.

"In December 2020, James told me about a scheme that could give triple returns. In January this year, I invested Rs 10,000 and within three months I received Rs 35,000. Around 90 to 100 others who had also invested in small amounts also got double to triple returns, which made us believe him," said Chetti. Kutten's scheme was short-term ones for 15 and 20 days. As part of it, a person investing Rs 2,500 for 15 days would get Rs 25,000 or 10-times the initial amount while those investing Rs 30,000 for 20 days would get Rs 1,00,000.

"I mortgaged my jewelry and used up all the salary and invested R3.5 lakh. My relatives and other friends invested a total of R27 lakh. Hundreds of others also invested in the scheme," Chetti said.

She added that when her brother started asking Kutten for returns on his investments, the couple failed to return the returns as well as the initial amount. Following this, Chetti, her relatives and some other investors caught Kutten and approached the police on Tuesday.

"We have registered the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as relevant sections of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial. Establishments) Act, 1999. We arrested Kutten and produced him before the court. He has been remanded in police custody till October 30," said a police officer.