An estimated 4,583 investors, most middle-class residents from central Mumbai were duped to the tune of Rs 11 crore by operators of the Golden Chain scheme between April 22, 1997 and August 28, 1998.

Investigating officer, senior inspector D N Kusale said the chargesheets were filed between October 10 and December 15 last year after recording statements of the 4,583 complainants. A record 69 accused have been indicted. Most of the victims were found to be BEST employees, Kusale added.

A senior crime branch officer said a large sum of money from the scheme has been impounded. The four key accused named in the chargesheets are Ashok Sheregar, Vijay Gaikwad, Santosh Parkar and Shrikant More. Machinder Padval was the first to be arrested in the Golden Chain case after a complaint was lodged at Worli police station on August 28 lastyear.

Explaining the modus operandi of those running the scheme, Assistant Commissioner of Police (EOW) Madhukar Ghorpade said Sheregar appointed agents who were entitled to two per cent commission on the investment. It was mandatory for the agents to rope in at least two more investors before they could receive their share, Ghorpade pointed out.

``The number of investors swelled initially. The investors overlooked the pitfalls in the scheme as the returns were too high and the greed factor had set in,'' remarked ACP Ghorpade.

Some of the other schemes floated by Sheregar are Vaibhav Laxmi, Dhanvarsha, Kuber, and Diamond Circle. Eight such schemes are also being probed by EOW, a senior police officer revealed.