As per the modus operandi, victims met Dharma Reddy through those who had already paid him money for jobs in Italy
Visakhapatnam: A job scammer allegedly duped hundreds of unemployed individuals across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other states promising lucrative employment opportunities in Italy.
Kocherla Dharma Reddy from Ichapuram collected between ₹2 lakh to ₹3 lakh from each of his approximately 360 victims promising jobs in Italy. After collecting all the money, Dharma Reddy has reportedly gone abroad.
The scammer’s victims are from various locations, including Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Narsipatnam, Anakapalli and Ichapuram. They all gathered at the Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner's office on Friday.
One of the victims Venkatesh claimed he mortgaged gold jewellery to raise the money and give it to Dharma Reddy for securing a job in Italy. Some others said they had mortgaged their homes for the purpose.
Venkatesh said, “Now, I have a loan to repay and no job. I have registered a case at the Gajuwaka police station.”
As per the modus operandi, victims met Dharma Reddy through those who had already paid him money for jobs in Italy. The scammer would arrange for a medical test and collected an advance of ₹30,000 or so. Three months later, Dharma Reddy would say a work permit has been issued but the aspirant has to pay an additional ₹1 lakh towards insurance. Then the scamster sought ₹40,000 towards Italian Embassy charges.
“When we contacted the embassy, we found that all the documents provided by Dharma Reddy had been fake,” Venkatesh said.
About 30 victims from Visakhapatnam alone met the Visakhapatnam police commissioner Sankhabrata Bagchi. He asked them to file formal complaints at their respective police stations, which include Gajuwaka, One Town and Kancherapalem.
Sankhabrata told Deccan Chronicle, “We have asked all victims from different districts of AP, and some from other states, to register cases at their nearest police station. We are filing cases and an investigation is under progress.”
