Two persons, who allegedly duped customers and fled with around Rs 4 crore, were arrested in connection with a marketing fraud case. Around 35 victims of the fraud approached the Secunderabad Market police and lodged a complaint against the firm named Srilakshmi Estate Marketing Pvt. Ltd, last Sunday. Police said the two arrested men, Shivaram Reddy, a resident of Ram Nagar and native of Ongole, and Brahmananda Reddy, a native of Guntur and resident of Vanastalipuram, had fled after collecting money from customers.
Inspector S. Vinod Kumar said the company was started in 2008. “As per company rules, each custumer had to pay Rs 500 a month as deposit. There would be a lottery every month, and the winner would get Rs 1.25 lakh as prize money,” he said. “However, the company was shut down last month without any notice to customers. When the customers went to the company’s office, the owners were absconding,” he added.