New Delhi (Agency): New Delhi has been in a whirlwind, as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) revealed the audacious scam executed by two swindlers who concocted a sham anti-corruption body. With a devilish combination of skill and audacity, these individuals duped unsuspecting citizens out of a staggering Rs 25 lakh under the guise of membership fees. The crafty culprits used fake documentation and falsified letters, allegedly signed by a former President and a Union Minister, to give their scheme an air of legitimacy.
In a charge sheet filed with a specialized court, the CBI revealed that Chennai residents, Reningston Sales and Vincent Raju, had established a pseudo zonal office for their fabricated Anti-Corruption and Anti-Crime (ACAC) Wing of India in Chennai. They gave the illusion of a legitimate operation by listing their headquarters in New Delhi’s LokAyoktha Building.
The conmen drafted a letter on May 11, 2018, allegedly from former President Ram Nath Kovind, congratulating former Chief Justice of India, R M Lodha, on his fabricated appointment as the president of their counterfeit organization. This ruse, the CBI claims, was orchestrated to lend credibility to their phony establishment.
They took their scam a step further by creating a letter, supposedly from Union Minister of State for Personnel and PMO, Jitendra Singh. This letter falsely informed chief secretaries of states of the fictional appointment of Justice Lodha (retired) as the president of the ACAC Wing of India.
Unbeknown to their victims, Sales and Raju had set up a bank account where they stashed Rs 25 lakh, raked in as membership fees. Furthermore, the duo had allegedly withdrawn over Rs 10 lakh from their account, evidence of their profit from the ill-gotten funds.
In a shocking twist, during the investigation, the CBI discovered that Sales had created an email id under the name of former chief justice Lodha, complete with a recovery mobile number. Among Sales’s possessions were visiting cards bearing the same phone number linked to the false email account.
Adding fuel to the fire, the investigators also found multiple emails falsely sent in the name of the former Chief Justice of India at Raju’s residence. His property had also been used as the fraudulent office of the ACAC Wing of India.
In a bid to enhance the perceived reputation of their fraudulent organization, the pair fabricated letterheads, rubber stamps, ID cards, and visiting cards, falsely claiming recognition from the Central Vigilance Commission, and even illegally used India’s National Emblem.
An array of incriminating documents were uncovered at Sales’s residence, which further solidified the charges against them. These included appointment letters, resolutions, bank account opening forms, and copies of Letters of MoS, PMO and Personnel, along with Rs 6 lakh in cash. The details of the audacious operation were revealed in the CBI’s charge sheet.