Bhubaneswar: Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Bhubaneswar, has arrested one person from Mundwa in Pune in connection with a fraud crypto mining app.
He has been identified as Vishal Sakharam Utkar, a resident of Latur in Maharashtra. He was brought to Bhubaneswar on a transit remand and will be produced before the OPID Court, Cuttack, the EOW said in a release on Sunday.
Vishal was arrested on basis of a complaint lodged by one Dibyajyoti Kar of Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar, whom he lured with colourful propaganda videos to invest with a company namely GETSO engaged in crypto mining, via a WhatsApp group. He was promised 6% daily return on the invested amount, apart from daily withdrawal facility. The complainant created an account in the website of GETSO using a referral link. Between October 2022 to December 24, 2022, he deposited Rs 1.27 lakh with the company. Subsequently, the GETSO WhatsApp group was closed and withdrawal requests were also ignored.
“The company cheated thousands of other investors across India. There would be more than hundred investors from Odisha alone,” the release said.
So far, Rs 144 crore involved in this scam have been traced. The company was running online money circulation by running Ponzi schemes in the name of crypto mining and operating throughout India. Of the invested amount, Rs 9 crore was found to have been transferred to the account of the arrested, it added.
MODUS OPERANDI
1. GETSO fraudulently claimed to be a Washington, USA based company on its website/APP.
2. GETSO APP was available in Google Play Store with more than 10000 downloads.
3. It was showcased as dollar earning APP.
4. It claimed to be doing the Crypto Mining but actually was running a Ponzi/ Multi-Level Marketing online scam.
5. One needs to register after downloading it.
6. One could join it through referral link of its website too.
7. Members would get certain commission on introducing the new/ downline members in this scheme.
8. It had multiple scheme of quick money making investments, like
>> 10 USD investment- 0.5 USD daily return X 38 days
>> 28 USD investment – 1.68 USD daily return X 36 days
>> 68 USD investment- 3.6 USD daily return X 39 days
>> 108 USD investment- 6 USD daily return X 37 days Up to 960 USD plan etc.
9. It used some You Tubers to promote the scheme- like Earning Guru Mj https://youtu.be/rMiIXYyPkfw 10.
On October 25, 2022, GETSO announced that it is withdrawing from Indian market claiming high taxation from Indian Government on cryptocurrency.
