CHENNAI: A man who was working as an advertisement manager with a FM radio channel was arrested by the City Police for cheating a businessman of Rs 1.88 crore.
The accused, S Vijayaraghavan (39) of Pammal had befriended Peer Aneesh Raja (47) of Seven Wells, a wholesale dealer of firecrackers while working in the FM channel when Peer wanted to give an advertisement during Diwali.
Vijayaraghavan convinced Peer to start an advertisement company with him and told him that he will help with the contacts to run the company. Believing the accused, Peer started an advertising company named 'Mantra Media.'
Vijayaraghavan then quit his job at the FM channel and joined the advertising company full-time. Three months later, Vijayraghavan started a company with the same name and diverted the customers and took money from them.
"While booking advertising slots on TV channels, Vijayaraghavan got the initial amount of certain lakhs from Peer and would tell that when the customers pay them he would give it to him. This continued till he swindled Rs. 1.88 crores, " a police officer said.
When Peer did not get any money, he became suspicious and lodged a police complaint. Inquiries revealed that Vijayaraghavan used the second company of the same name and took the payments from the customers, the police said. He would then put it in his account instead of giving it to Peer.
He was produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.