delhi hc peak xv impersonation: Delhi HC orders apps to suspend accounts impersonating Peak XV, Sequoia Capital

The accused impersonated the venture firms to create bogus investment platforms that duped many unsuspecting investors. While the exact amount that people were cheated of is not known, some people took to public platforms to say they had lost as much as Rs 30 lakh to the ponzi scheme.

This came to light after Peak XV Partners alerted the general public through posts on Linkedin and Twitter on December 28 last year, which attracted comments from many people.

“Several disgruntled consumers voiced their complaints by commenting on the said posts, claiming that they had suffered losses running over Rs 30 lakhs due to defendant No. 1’s fraudulent activities,” Peak XV’s lawyers noted in the Delhi High Court.

The accused party was using the brand name Pak XV which is very similar to Peak XV. It was also using signages of the firm and names of senior executives at the firm without any explicit permission for the same, the firm noted in the court proceedings. The accused used the Sequoia Capital brand name in a similar way through fake groups on WhatsApp and Telegram.

The idea was to use these brand names to leverage the trust that the venture firm had among the general public. The accused would identify as an official channel of communication and dupe unsuspecting users with false investment options.

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In an order passed on January 24, the court asked IndusInd Bank to suspend and disable the payment ID which was used to accept these payments. The court also instructed Bharti Airtel, the telecom service provider for the mobile number used in the process, to disable the same. Simultaneously orders were passed to Facebook (owner of WhatsApp), Google (owner of YouTube) and Telegram to block access to all services for the accused.ET spoke to some industry insiders to understand how the scam unfolded. They said it would all start with some live webinars, stock tips and investment recommendations.

“They would then reach out to potential victims on WhatsApp or Telegram and redirect them to the scammers’ website and coax them into downloading dubious apps to receive stock tips and partake in investments,” said a person in the know.

After sizable investments or the victim growing suspicious, the scammers would cease communication leaving the victim in the lurch, the person added.

American venture firm Sequoia Capital spun off its India and SouthEast Asia investment business into a separate entity named Peak XV Partners. The venture firm is a major investor in large startups like Cred, PineLabs, Groww, Razorpay and others with more than a billion dollars invested in India.

The accused impersonated the venture firms to create bogus investment platforms that duped many unsuspecting investors. While the exact amount that people were cheated of is not known, some people took to public platforms to say they had lost as much as Rs 30 lakh to the ponzi scheme.

This came to light after Peak XV Partners alerted the general public through posts on Linkedin and Twitter on December 28 last year, which attracted comments from many people.

“Several disgruntled consumers voiced their complaints by commenting on the said posts, claiming that they had suffered losses running over Rs 30 lakhs due to defendant No. 1’s fraudulent activities,” Peak XV’s lawyers noted in the Delhi High Court.

The accused party was using the brand name Pak XV which is very similar to Peak XV. It was also using signages of the firm and names of senior executives at the firm without any explicit permission for the same, the firm noted in the court proceedings. The accused used the Sequoia Capital brand name in a similar way through fake groups on WhatsApp and Telegram.

The idea was to use these brand names to leverage the trust that the venture firm had among the general public. The accused would identify as an official channel of communication and dupe unsuspecting users with false investment options.

Discover the stories of your interest

In an order passed on January 24, the court asked IndusInd Bank to suspend and disable the payment ID which was used to accept these payments. The court also instructed Bharti Airtel, the telecom service provider for the mobile number used in the process, to disable the same. Simultaneously orders were passed to Facebook (owner of WhatsApp), Google (owner of YouTube) and Telegram to block access to all services for the accused.ET spoke to some industry insiders to understand how the scam unfolded. They said it would all start with some live webinars, stock tips and investment recommendations.

“They would then reach out to potential victims on WhatsApp or Telegram and redirect them to the scammers’ website and coax them into downloading dubious apps to receive stock tips and partake in investments,” said a person in the know.

After sizable investments or the victim growing suspicious, the scammers would cease communication leaving the victim in the lurch, the person added.

American venture firm Sequoia Capital spun off its India and SouthEast Asia investment business into a separate entity named Peak XV Partners. The venture firm is a major investor in large startups like Cred, PineLabs, Groww, Razorpay and others with more than a billion dollars invested in India.