25 Indian TV stars duped in energy drink ad scam

India’s television entertainment industry has recently been left in shock over a fraud case. 25  personalities including Ankita Lokhande, Tejasswi Prakash, Adrija Roy and Aayush Sharma have allegedly been duped for nearly INR 15 million.

A police complaint has been registered against five people including the owners of an Indore-based company, Sky 63 Energy Drinks, in a INR 14.8 million fraud case. However, the Mumbai police have reportedly booked Tanish Chhajed and Manu Shrivastava, along with their associates-, Faizal Idrii, Abdul, and Riitik Panchal, under fraud-related charges.

Further investigations are currently underway. The police are trying to track down the suspects and recover the money.

The energy drink company allegedly cheated a celebrity management firm, Ayman Entertainment. The owner of the management firm, Roshan Bhinder, has filed a complaint against two men, Chhajed, and Shrivastava, at Chembur police station.

Chhajed and Shrivastava reportedly approached in 2024 and claimed to be the owners of the energy drink company. According to the reports, the accused allegedly hired the firm to arrange celebrity ad campaigns and promotions on social media. Bhinder reportedly arranged 25 celebrities for the promotions.

However, Shrivastava initially claimed that he had transferred INR 01 million as an advance, but Bhinder never received the payment. Despite this, Bhinder started planning the campaign and organized a glamorous event in Dadar, Mumbai on August 10, 2024.

The promotional event was notably attended by 100 celebrities including, Arjun Bijlani, Abhishek Bajaj, and Harsh Rajput. Among these, 25 celebrities were selected for the ad campaign.

As per the agreement, the celebrities were to receive a total payment of INR 13.2 million, while Bhinder’s commission would amount to INR 1.6 million. In an attempt to establish credibility, the accused shared an image of a 1.5 million cheque as a payment guarantee, reassuring that the funds would be transferred to Bhinder’s account shortly.

Bhinder then started the ad campaign filming, with videos being shared on social media platforms. The accused then assured her that the payment would be transferred within 35 days. Bhinder had allegedly already paid INR 3.5 million in advance to some celebrities.

Source: Money Control
--Agencies