In the name of ducks, consumers lost several crores

Consumers need to think twice when someone approaches them with the offer of 'good business opportunity' or 'good investment opportunity'.
Duck Development Society is a classic example to study how easy is it to dupe the gullible in the name of good investment opportunity.
Prakasam district-based Duck Development Society offered people a good investment opportunity with abnormal returns within a short span of three months. All the investors have to do is investment the amount and wait for three months. Meanwhile, if they want to make extra amount, they could refer the investment opportunity to their friends and relatives to get commission from the recruitment of new investors.
The modus opereandi is simple. The Duck Development Society would be paid Rs. 23,000 by each investor and the amount would be spent to purchase some ducklings and the society would undertake the responsibility to rear them. After three months, the grownup ducks would be sold for an unspecified amount and the investor would be paid Rs. 38,000.
It is an attractive proposal of getting returns of Rs. 15,000 in three months with an investment of Rs. 23,000.
Many people fell for it and soon the Duck Development Society spread its tentacles all over the State.
An anxious investor from Gadval in Mahaboobnagar district approached Vijayawada-based Corporate Frauds Watch to know whether it is a good investment opportunity. After telling him that it is a fraud, the Corporate Frauds Watch has also taken up the matter to the notice of the police.
Surprisingly, the police were still under the impression that it was a good business opportunity.
Corporate Frauds Watch told the police that if duck-rearing is really good business opportunity and fetches good returns, the Society should approached the commercial banks with its project. The Banks would be too happy to extend financial support for such projects. Why the Society is collecting money from people? The police have seen the gameplan of the Society and registered a criminal case against the society.
Even after the criminal case was registered, the Society continued its operations for sometime. However, the Society soon started defaulting the payments. People took to streets demanding payments. But by that time the Society has already garnered about Rs. 80 crore and vanished.
The Duck Development Society has indulged in several crimes. One, collecting deposits from public without the permission of the Reserve Bank of India is a crime under the provisions of the AP Protection of Depositors Act, second enrollment by paying commission is a crime under the provisions of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, thirdly knowing fully the chain would break sooner than later, they encouraged the chain scheme and it is a crime under the Section 420 read with Section 34 (jointly and severally liable) of Indian Penal Code.
The organisers were caught later and spent sometime behind the bars before they were released on bail. The case is still under investigation.