"Starlit Scam: Investors Pay ₹10 Crore for Telegram VIP, Rent a Lamborghini in Mind"

When the viral post featuring a rented Lamborghini in the background went live, the instant download count hit 53 k in two hours; the promise: 5 % ROI on ‘foreign‑equity’ trades and a talk with the 'VIP Trader Club'. The scammers, hiding behind a fake Telegram channel, claimed to trade on international platforms but never actually logged into any bourse.

Evidence Photo Break

Boiler room and call center operations raided during enforcement actions against unauthorized stock tips.

Retail traders, trusting the glossy promises, forged a 2‑year contract for ₹10 crn to a ‘high‑yield expiry’ frontier. The options were exotic string dates with uncontrolled volatility; the broker’s margin calls sent panicked investors to call 1‑1‑1 for credit cards, while the platform’s own chatbot simply said, ‘Buy again, the bird deals only happen once a fortnight.’

SEBI’s investigators accessed the group’s telegram logs, citing a Section 11B breach for misrepresentation of a regulated firm. The regulator issued a stern circular warning that, while it cannot enforce on foreign equities per Indian law, it can sanction the domestic facilitator. Traders were cautioned to verify that the asset is listed on a home‑country exchange and that the intermediary is a bona‑fide SEBI‑registered entity. Thankfully, the NiftyShares user base monitored the crores and saw a 26 % drop before a massive refund claim was made.