Greed for money breeding money chain frauds

THRISSUR: The greed to amass money makes people easy victims of money chain frauds in the state, say the police.There are a number of government-authorised institutions to ensure the safety of the money of the public.“But the promise of money chain organisations to multiply money within a short period of time wheedles people to these organisations,” says Assistant Commissioner of Police M J Mathew.In all, 11 cases were registered in Thrissur district in the past few months.Eight cases were registered in the city against Nano Excel director Patrick Thomas and three cases in Chelakkara police station which falls under the jurisdiction of the rural police.The amount of money lost to the investors has touched Rs 23 lakh. “We have got a complaint against the Bizarre Group from Wadakkanchery. We are investigating on the basis of that complaint,” said Rural SP M Padmanabhan.A press release issued by IG B Sandhya a month ago said: “We have released a note to make people aware of the fraudulent activities of the organisations.But they don’t seem to understand.” On the punishment to those who cheat the public, Sandhya said it depended on the extent of the fraud.“Those hailing from the middle class are the victims of the fraud. Many investors had earned lucrative profits before being cheated by the firms. But they do not file complaints because they are sure they won’t get the money back. It seems that it is not the lack of awareness that led them to the predicament but the greed,” says Mathew.He said that government officers had invested money in the chain business in the names of their wives.This in turn persuaded people to invest money in the organisations and most of the transactions are being done on the internet.“We came to know that Nano Excel has offices in many places in South India without proper registration,” says Mathew.The people are aware of the fraud, but they fall prey to their own greed, he said.As cases have come up against the money-chain organisations, a number of similar organisations in the district are under the scanner of the police.