Pune, April 19: IN AN interesting twist to the $4.25-lakh (Rs 1.83 crore) BPO fraud, sources close to the investigations said the mastermind of the racket, MphasiS BPO team manager Maurelene Fernandes, herself fell into the con trap and was relieved of Rs 95,000.

Sources told Newsline that Fernandes after siphoning off lakhs of rupees from the four US citizens’ Citibank accounts, had invested Rs 95,000 in a Kasarwadi-based information technology firm — San-Indos Software — in January. The IT firm, promising data entry and photo shop jobs, had lured people to invest in the firm. The firm charged people for getting projects from it.

After a year being in operation, suddenly in mid-March this year, the firm shut shop leaving nearly 6,000 people who had invested in it in the lurch. Incidentally, Fernandes was one among them who had invested in the firm hoping to make some quick returns.

Sources also said that Fernandes along with Ivan Thomas, Narendra Yadav, Anand Karnavat and Ashishkumar Thakur had siphoned off Rs 32.89 lakh from the Citibank accounts.

Though the police had arrested one of the San-Indos Software partners, Nepali citizen Sangram Dhami, after they were informed about the firm, two other partners have been absconding.

Meanwhile, the police are questioning Fernandes and Yadav, who have been remanded to police custody till April 21. Sources said they were being questioned to get further information on how they spent the money.

Earlier on Monday, the police had told the court of judicial magistrate (First Class) that Fernandes had repaid Rs 1.5 lakh towards a home loan that she had taken, while Yadav had claimed that he gave Rs 1.5 lakh to his father. The duo had also spent over Rs 40,000 for purchasing jewellery for Yadav’s marriage.

The police have so far arrested 16 people in connection with the case.