Tech Employees Duped in ₹3.32 Crore Ponzi Scheme, Suspect on the Run

On November 8, 2025, the Cyberabad Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registered a case and launched an investigation into a suspected multi-crore investment scam that has affected at least 30 victims, many of them software engineers.

According to the complaint filed by one of the victims, N Vijay Kumar, a 47-year-old software engineer from Kothaguda, he and 29 others were duped by their neighbor, P Srinivasa Rao, who promised spectacular monthly returns for investing in his company, Advaith Investment Solutions. Rao allegedly promised ₹7 every month for every ₹100 invested.

Lured by the seemingly authentic dashboard on Rao's company website and a list of earlier investors, the complainant alone transferred ₹27.5 lakh between November 2024 and April 2025 into two IndusInd Bank accounts held by the accused. Using Kumar's referral, several of his friends also invested, with a total of at least 29 others, many of them tech employees, depositing sums ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹50.3 lakh.

To bolster credibility, Rao issued post-dated cheques and promissory notes to several clients and paid interest regularly until August 2025. However, he then stopped answering calls, switched off his phone, and is now untraceable, the complainant alleged.

The EOW has registered a case against Rao under Sections 316(2) (Punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 5 of the Telangana Protection of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act. Investigators are working to freeze Rao's bank accounts and locate the suspect, who is currently on the run.