Man who nailed QNet forms financial fraud victims' forum

Gurupreet Singh Anand holds up the bio-disc that was sold by QNet

Gurupreet Singh Anand (43), an Andheri (West)-based software professional, has moved from IT to activism. Anand, who had an enterprise called Cyberwatch Technologies, was the first complainant in the QNet scam, which landed Mumbai's former billiards world champion and Padma Bhushan awardee Michael Ferreira in police lock-up. There are others from the city besides Ferreira who are in the lock-up too.

Victims of the QNet scam outside the Andheri venue, where they meet as part of the Financial Frauds Victims Association

Anand founded an organisation, Financial Frauds Victims Association a month back, primarily for those duped in the QNet scam.

A step at a time
"We have had six meetings so far. We meet in Andheri (East) in the classroom of a private college, which is empty on Sundays. We pay nominal rent for this. My aim is to first form a support structure for such victims, and then try and help to recover the money by taking legal recourse. This all is still at a nascent stage, so right now, I am in the process of setting up a structure to achieve this multi-pronged aim," said Anand.

"It is some solace when victims here realise that they are not the only ones duped in the scam. Besides the pain of losing money, they also have to face jibes from people for being fooled and a loss of self-esteem as a result."

Anand added that those who have lost their money had heart-rending stories to tell. "A woman who was made to borrow money at 4 per cent per month from private moneylenders, all of which she lost in the scam, went through a phase in which the family could not afford a single meal as goons would be at the door to recover the money. This is just one example, there are so many more, including marriages breaking up because of the tension the scam caused in households."

Fight for justice
"My aim is to help the victims file for refund and compensation through consumer and civil courts," he added.

Anand filed the complaint in August 2013, after QNet representatives took a cheque of Rs 31,500 from his wife to sell her a bio-disc, claiming it has healing properties. When he heard of this, he convinced his wife to ask for the cheque back, saying it was a scam. The two managed to stop payment through the bank, but the company did not return the cheque. "I was determined to make these white-collared financial terrorists pay," said Anand.