MADURAI: Who is Richard Soros? Is he actually a Colorado, US-based businessman as he claimed, or is he an AI-generated identity created by cybercriminals? Is the key accused in the FQL investment fraud himself a victim of a larger, international fraud?
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which is investigating the case in which around 8,000 people have allegedly lost several crore rupees, came across the name while questioning K Ranjith of Kattayampatti, the 29-year-old main accused in the fraud case, who alleged that the US national was the mastermind of the whole scam.
Noting that Ranjith has never met the man, or even seen his face, the police suspect that this could be an AI-generated person, and are planning to seek Google’s help in identifying him.
When questioned by the EOW team, headed by its South Zone Superintendent of Police K Saravana Kumar, Ranjith said he had first come into contact with Richard Soros while working in Hungarian capital Budapest, ironically after falling victim to another investment fraud.
Ranjith, an ITI graduate, moved to Budapest in 2022 through a manpower agency in Melur. There, he worked as a daily-wage labourer, earning Rs 50,000 a month. “To earn quick money, Ranjith invested in online trading, but was cheated. He then posted details of the three online trading groups that had cheated him on his Telegram and Facebook accounts,” a senior police officer told DT Next.
Later, he received a message through Telegram from a person identifying himself as Richard Soros, an online trader from Colorado, USA.
To substantiate his claim of being a legitimate trader, Soros shared with him a certificate purportedly issued by a government organisation in Colorado, similar to the ones issued by the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs in India. The document said he was authorised to conduct FQL investment trading business.
“After gaining Ranjith’s confidence, Soros lured him by stating that if he invested Rs 50,000 in US dollars, he would get double the amount within 45 days. He then shared a link to download the FQL
Exchange app and asked him to install it on his mobile phone,” said the officer.
He then directed Ranjith to upload all his personal details, including his bank account details and Aadhaar card, and instructed him to take a selfie holding his Aadhaar card and upload it to the FQL Exchange app, the officer said.
When it came to converting the deposited amount into dollars, Soros asked Ranjith to first use Binance to convert Indian rupees into USDT (Tether) and then transfer the amount to FQL Exchange.
“It seems Ranjith was not aware at that stage that FQL Exchange was not registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in India, whereas Binance is a registered entity. So, it appears that Soros had been running the scam clandestinely from the beginning,” said the officer.
Ranjith then encouraged Priyadharshini (23), then his fiancée, and also his relatives to invest through the app. The scheme subsequently spread like a multi-level marketing (MLM) operation across several parts of the Melur area in Madurai.
In 2025, Ranjith returned to his native place, where he arranged weekly training programmes by Soros for agents and investors through BonChat. Priyadharshini, whom he married, a postgraduate, translated Soros’s speech for the audience.
“He turned it into a big business by involving agents, as many villagers lacked knowledge about using mobile phones for investment,” said an officer. Ranjith also addressed agents and investors regularly through YouTube channels, the police said.
“Ranjith has never met Soros. His entire communication with him was through online communication apps such as Telegram and BonChat. So, we doubt whether the person he referred to is real or an AI-generated identity,” said the police.
“Hence, we are planning to request Google to provide the IP address used by Ranjith to conduct
Investigating officer in the case has so far received 3,000 complaints, while around 4,000 people have filed complaints in Dindigul, and 30 in Virudhunagar
the training programme involving Soros through BonChat,” he said.
The Madurai EOW team arrested Ranjith and Priyadharshini near Dindigul on September 7 and remanded them in judicial custody. “We will soon seek police custody of Ranjith for further investigation,” said the officer.
Madurai EOW inspector A Kamar Nisha, the investigating officer in the case, has so far received 3,000 complaints, while around 4,000 people have filed complaints in Dindigul, and 30 in Virudhunagar.
“Wives of police personnel were also cheated in the scam. Now, we need to collect the bank details of the victims to find out how much they actually invested and how much they lost. We will try to help them recover their money,” said an officer part of the investigation.