Three Ponzi firm honchos get jail

BHUBANESWAR: A trial court in Mayurbhanj district on Monday awarded jail terms to three senior functionaries of two chit fund companies and imposed hefty fines on them.
"The court convicted the three officials under various sections of IPC and section 4 and 5 of The Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978. The companies lured innocent investors by promising hefty returns," said public prosecutor Santanu Kumar Das.
Chief judicial magistrate, Baripada, Sanjay Kumar Sahu sentenced Diptikanta Behera, regional manager of India Info Star, to five years' rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs 1 crore. Two officials of India Info Line - branch manager Gagan Patra and manager Subhendu Sekhar Panda - got four years' rigorous imprisonment and were fined Rs 20 lakh each.
In default, Behera would undergo another 18 months' jail term. Patra and Panda would be imprisoned for six months more if they fail to pay the fine.
Police sources said the three convicts floated two Ponzi firms at Betanati in November 2011 and allegedly collected more than Rs 1 crore from depositors, promising them to double their investments in one year. The companies vanished in 2012-13.
Betanati police arrested the three in February 2013 following a complaint lodged by Kalakar Mahanta, an investor of Phuragosala village.