Doctors in Gold Quest fraud

WARANGAL: The GoldQuest scam rocked Warangal district with police booking cases against District Medical and Health Officer Vijayapal, 32 prominent doctors and 30 other professionals for allegedly duping people through the network. The cases were booked at the Geesukonda police station in the district as per the directive of the IIIrd additional magistrate court here on Saturday. In response to a petition filed by a Vijayawada-based NGO — Corporate Frauds Watch Society — the court directed the Geesukonda police to investigate the case and submit a report. They were booked under sections of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act 1978, as well as IPC 420, 385 R/W 34.

According to the complaint, several influential persons like doctors, lawyers and officials of various government departments have joined GoldQuest as member-promoters and are organising meetings and seminars in villages and towns to attract people to join the scheme with false promises.

After joining the scheme by paying huge sums, each member has to enrol more people and buy certain products being distributed by the company. They are promised huge commissions in return. Attracted by glib talk of people known to him, one Chandam Shiv Kumar of Viswanadhapuram village of Geesugonda mandal in the district and one of the petitioners, joined the scheme by paying Rs 32,000 and a registration fee of Rs 460. They gave him a six-gram gold coin and an e-card receipt. When he brought to the organisers' notice that the worth of the gold coin he got was not more than Rs 6,000 and that he was also not getting any commission, they told him that he would get commission only if he enrolled new members. The NGO, after conducting inquiries into the activities of the firm, declared that the scheme was a fraud and being run in gross violation of the Prize, Chits and Money Circulation Act.

The police also booked cases against the GoldQuest managing director, Pushpa Appala Naidu, chief executive officer Vijay Eshwaran, managers Joseph, Padma and Srinivasan.

Times of India Article:http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3130246.cms