The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) has issued two urgent notices regarding a cheating case that has impacted over 30,000 victims, leading to losses of crores of rupees tied to the High Box mobile app. Despite the urgency, no responses have come in.
Actress Rhea Chakraborty, along with social media influencers and YouTubers like Elvish Yadav, Abhishek Malhan (Fukra Insaan), Lakshya Chaudhary, and Purv Jha, actively promoted the app, enticing users to invest money for quick returns. Stand-up comedian Bharti Singh, her husband Saurav Joshi, Harsh Limbachia, Adarsh Singh, Amit (Crazy), and Dilraj Singh Rawat (Indian Hacker) also campaigned on social media, encouraging substantial investments. This led many to trust the app and invest heavily.
On October 5, police issued notices to five individuals, including Elvish Yadav, requesting their presence for the investigation after the app’s operators disappeared with investors’ funds. However, none of the individuals appeared. Elvish and one other individual submitted written responses through their lawyers.
On October 9, police sent notices to Rhea Chakraborty and Bharti Singh, but they also failed to respond. DCP IFSO Dr. Hemant Tiwari stated that over ten YouTubers and others promoted High Box to such an extent that they misled people into investing crores. The investigation is examining their involvement, and if authorities establish a criminal conspiracy, additional charges may follow.
Police plan to issue new notices to those who did not respond to the initial summons, likely next week. If the investigation clears the YouTubers, they may serve as witnesses, as they promoted the app for payment.
Recently, police arrested the main accused, J. Sivaram, who operates from Chennai. The investigation has unveiled a fraud totaling around Rs 500 crore, with 151 victims filing complaints related to the case. Authorities have frozen Rs 18 crores across four bank accounts linked to the accused. The fraudulent scheme promised investors daily interest rates between one to five percent and monthly returns of 30 to 90 percent.
Complaints first surfaced on August 16, leading to the registration of a case on August 20 after multiple victims came forward.