Hyderabad: Food court staffers forge QR codes, steal Rs 4 crores

Hyderabad: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Police of Cyberabad on Saturday arrested two persons who while working in food courts pocketed Rs 4.15 crores in customer payments by replacing the company’s QR codes with their own.

EOW Cyberabad deputy commissioner of police (DCP) K Prasad said that the accused were identified as Yasireddy Anil Kumar (41) and Mandala Raj Kumar. The duo were working as floor managers of Isthara Parks Pvt Ltd.

Case details

The case came to light after Mohammed Irshad Hussain, a representative of Isthara Parks filed a complaint. Isthara Parks, headquartered in Kondapur, offers rental homes known as ‘co-living properties’ along with running food courts in 16 cities.

Hussain said some employees of the company, working in various locations, placed forged QR codes for their personal benefit instead of the company’s QR codes. By doing so, they diverted payments from the company’s customers to their personal bank accounts. As a result, the company incurred a loss of Rs 4.15 crores. He requested that appropriate legal action be taken against the accused.

Accused named personal accounts with variations of the company’s name

Anil Kumar who was a floor manager since March 2023, had placed forged QR codes at different outlets in Hyderabad even while using variations of the company’s name (Istharaa and Istha) as their accounts’ names. Through this method, they were able to divert customer payments to their accounts.

After being caught, the accused confessed that he stole Rs 2 crores. He said he purchased a plot with Rs 40 lakhs and gave Rs 70 lakhs to his colleagues who helped in this offence. He also gave about Rs 60 lakhs to chitti holders and spent the remaining amount on his personal use and debts. His accomplice Raj Kumar took 10 lakhs from him and spent it on his expenditure and to clear debts.

Appeal to the public

The Cyberabad EOW Police appeal to the companies to monitor and put a close watch on their internal audit and day-to-day financial activities in their business locations and to arrange CCTV footage at workplaces.