Sonipat, Jan 24 (PTI) An FIR has been registered against 13 people, including actors and brand ambassadors Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath, on a complaint of cheating and breach of trust against a society in Sonipat, police said Friday.

Additional Commissioner of Police, Murthal, Sonipat, Ajeet Singh said, the complaint was against a multi-marketing company which is being investigated.

About the two actors, the ACP said, "It has been alleged that they were its brand ambassadors and victims get lured to invest because of such personalities... They were named in the complaint. An FIR has been registered. Now, it will be investigated what was their role".

There was no immediate reaction from the two actors on the matter.

The FIR was registered on January 22 evening under sections 316 (2), 318 (2) and 318 (4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, pertaining to offences including criminal breach of trust and cheating, on the complaint of Sonipat resident Vipul Antil (37).

With regards to the two actors, Antil alleged that both "promoted the Human Welfare Credit Cooperative Society Ltd, as brand ambassadors".

The complainant alleged that the society committed a "serious crime of cheating the public through financial schemes".

According to the complaint, the society was formed under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and it started functioning in many states including Haryana from September 16, 2016.

"Its main functions were to provide savings schemes like fixed deposit and recurring deposit. It presented itself as a trustworthy and safe financial institution and carried out massive publicity to attract and convince investors...the model was based on multi-level marketing, which rapidly increased the number of investors," it stated.

Promising better returns, the society assured investors that their money would be safe and the maturity amount would be paid on time and claimed they did so initially for a few years, the complaint alleged.

It further alleged that in 2023, the payment of maturity amount to the investors started getting disrupted and the "officials of the society kept trying to justify the delay by making the excuse of 'system upgradation'".

"When the investors and agents approached the Society officials regarding these problems, they were given false assurances. Gradually, the owners of the Society ended all contact and the investors did not get their hard-earned money back..," Antil alleged.

When contacted over phone, he claimed, "I have lost Rs 33 lakh of my hard-earned money. Like me, there are scores of other investors who were duped." When asked why he had named the two actors in the FIR, Antil said, "Both the actors promoted the society as brand ambassadors. Due to this, many ordinary people were attracted to invest in the society." Meanwhile, the Investigating Officer of Sonipat police in the case, said the matter will now be probed by the Economic Offences Wing of police. PTI SUN VSD ZMN

Criminal breach of trust and cheating: FIR names brand ambassadors for allegedly promoting a cooperative scheme that lured investors; probe underway. An FIR alleges criminal breach of trust and cheating by a cooperative society and thirteen named individuals, including two brand ambassadors, for promoting savings schemes run on a multi-level marketing model; payments of maturity amounts allegedly became irregular, investors received false assurances, officials ceased contact, and the matter has been referred to the Economic Offences Wing for investigation.