Thousands of investors in India are scrambling to recover their money after falling victim to a Ponzi scheme operated by Falcon Invoice Discounting. The scheme, which promised high short-term returns, collected nearly 17 billion rupees (approximately $196 million) from around 7,000 investors since 2021 but has repaid only half of the amount, according to police in the southern state of Telangana.

Authorities arrested two individuals on Saturday after a case was filed against Falcon, which lured investors with the promise of up to 22% returns by claiming to connect depositors with major companies such as Amazon and Britannia. Police investigations revealed that Falcon operated by using funds from new investors to pay older ones while diverting remaining amounts to shell entities.

Efforts are underway to trace Falcon’s founder, Amardeep Kumar, who has been identified as the main accused. Meanwhile, investors are grappling with uncertainty over the recovery of their funds.

Many victims had put their life savings into the scheme. Roopesh Chauhan, a tech employee, said he lost 15 million rupees and is unsure if he will ever get it back. Similarly, assistant professor S. Smriti, who lost over 3 million rupees, reported the fraud to the police, describing the lost amount as all their savings.

Investor groups are now exploring legal remedies to reclaim their money. Ankit Bihani, a jeweler from New Delhi, recently met with 50 other investors who collectively lost 500 million rupees, discussing possible action against Falcon. He noted that most investors were drawn to the platform through social media promotions.

Authorities have raised concerns about the rising number of fraudulent investment schemes operating through fake apps, websites, and call centers, which continue to deceive unsuspecting investors.

Neither Falcon nor the companies it claimed to be affiliated with—Amazon and Britannia—have responded to requests for comment.