New Delhi, June 30: Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested three directors of Duvera Retails Pvt Ltd for allegedly running a Rs 4.17-crore MLM-Ponzi investment fraud under the brand name FunTasteTic Cafe.
The accused allegedly lured investors with promises of assured monthly returns, franchise income and referral commissions before defaulting on payments and shutting down operations.
The police identified the accused as Bhoop Singh, Gaurav Verma and Sanjeev Sharma, all directors of Duvera Retails Pvt Ltd. They were arrested on June 29 from their residences in East Delhi after an EOW team tracked them down.
The case stems from a complaint by Sanjay Jagdish and several other investors. They alleged that the company induced people to invest in FunTasteTic Cafe franchise schemes by promising guaranteed monthly returns and referral incentives through a multi-level marketing (MLM) model.
Investigators alleged that after collecting large sums from investors, the company stopped making payments, shut its offices and online platforms, and ceased all communication with investors.
An FIR dated May 22, 2026, was registered at the EOW police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 21 of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019.
During the investigation, the EOW found that the franchise investment model allegedly operated as a Ponzi and MLM scheme, with money collected from new investors used to pay returns to earlier investors instead of being generated through legitimate business activities.
The police said 1,069 investors collectively invested about Rs 4.17 crore, of which nearly Rs 2.88 crore remains unpaid.
More than 70 investors have joined the investigation and submitted bank statements, investment receipts, WhatsApp chats and promotional material, which investigators said support the allegations.
The probe also found that the accused allegedly tried to destroy evidence by shutting their offices and websites, removing investors from WhatsApp groups and cutting off communication.
Authorities have debit-frozen four bank accounts linked to the accused and opened Look Out Circulars (LOCs) against all three directors.
