In an alleged multi-crore fraud, online marketing company City Management Facility Services cheated hundreds of people as it downed its shutters and disappeared. The company’s headquarters at RTC Crossroads and all four branches in the city remained shut since Mon-day, and no company official, including managing director V. Sai Ramesh could be reached. Following complaints from the victims, who gathered at the Central Crime Station, police registered cases. CCS additional deputy commissioner of police Jaffer Javed said two special police teams were spreading out to arrest the company officials.
The company used to promise online jobs such as data entry, posting of advertisements on websites and form-filling. It would take hefty deposits amounting to several lakhs from job seekers, promising them a monthly salary of 50 per cent of what they paid the company. For some time, it did make such payments back to those who joined it, but later, as figures swelled, it did the escape act.
A. Ramani, a housewife from Saidabad colony, said she paid several lakhs in the last seven months. “I joined with a deposit of Rs 12,000 in January and had been getting Rs 6,000 per month till June. All I had to do was copy and paste some advertisements in specific websites. Since I got my salary for six months, I made a bulk deposit of Rs 10 lakh last month, and now they have fled with all my money,” she said.
According to inspector G. Gireesh Rao, the company, which was also known as City Info Solutions, was established in November 2011 with its main office at RTC Cross Road with three branches at Sanjeeva Reddynagar, Kukatpally, and Dilsukhnagar. Victims said most of their money transactions were done by hand, and not by bank. Peter Rahul, a final year B.Com student from HAL Colony, Old Bowenpally, had paid an amount of Rs 12 lakh as deposit in June. A. Raj Kumar, an unemployed youth from Tukkuguda, said eight members from his family jointly deposited Rs 10 lakh in June. Seven BTech students of Green Fort Engineering College from Reinbazar said that they lost several lakhs.