It's already one thing for people to fall prey to investment scams, but its quite another when the conman has connections to the highest echelons of Singapore’s political sphere.
Ananthan Thillagan, former bodyguard of Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Hsien Loong and a previous aide to ex-presdent SR Nathan, has been accused of deceiving a man and his wife of $50,000 in a sham investment scheme according to the victim's account on Report Scams Asia.
Thillagan had promised that if Sugendran and his wife were to invest in his company Profit On Land, the monthly payouts would be substantial and capital is guaranteed. Sugendran and his then pregnant wife were taken in by his words, and gradually invested their savings of $50,000 in various products.
Thillagan even claimed that various political figures and ministers had put some of their money into the investment vehicle.
Sugendran eventually came to realise about the con when the former bodyguard kept delaying payback and repeatedly giving false promises to pay.
Debt collection firm JMS Rogers was eventually engaged by the victim, and police reports have been made against Thillagan.
“To my satisfaction, JMS Rogers quickly tracked him down and confronted him and have even gotten him to admit to his scam and even sign a document on a repayment plan to me. He also pleaded with them to not report him to the authorities,” Sugendran remarked.
“However, he later changed his mind and defiantly refused to pay still.”
This case is a particularly concerning one for JMS Rogers founder Roger Rajan, who feels strongly for the victim. "An ongoing case involving the abuse of power of a civil servant to commit outright fraud followed by intimidation against one of clients have got me thinking about human nature – greed, avarice, deceit and the lack of compassion and decency towards another fellow man." he wrote in a Facebook post.
According to Today, police are already on the case.
Photo: aenri05 via Flickr
It's already one thing for people to fall prey to investment scams, but its quite another when the conman has connections to the highest echelons of Singapore’s political sphere.
Ananthan Thillagan, former bodyguard of Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Hsien Loong and a previous aide to ex-presdent SR Nathan, has been accused of deceiving a man and his wife of $50,000 in a sham investment scheme according to the victim's account on Report Scams Asia.
Thillagan had promised that if Sugendran and his wife were to invest in his company Profit On Land, the monthly payouts would be substantial and capital is guaranteed. Sugendran and his then pregnant wife were taken in by his words, and gradually invested their savings of $50,000 in various products.
Thillagan even claimed that various political figures and ministers had put some of their money into the investment vehicle.
Sugendran eventually came to realise about the con when the former bodyguard kept delaying payback and repeatedly giving false promises to pay.
Debt collection firm JMS Rogers was eventually engaged by the victim, and police reports have been made against Thillagan.
“To my satisfaction, JMS Rogers quickly tracked him down and confronted him and have even gotten him to admit to his scam and even sign a document on a repayment plan to me. He also pleaded with them to not report him to the authorities,” Sugendran remarked.
“However, he later changed his mind and defiantly refused to pay still.”
This case is a particularly concerning one for JMS Rogers founder Roger Rajan, who feels strongly for the victim. "An ongoing case involving the abuse of power of a civil servant to commit outright fraud followed by intimidation against one of clients have got me thinking about human nature – greed, avarice, deceit and the lack of compassion and decency towards another fellow man." he wrote in a Facebook post.
According to Today, police are already on the case.
Photo: aenri05 via Flickr