A joint team of the Special Operations Group (SOG) and Cantt Police arrested 13 people from Takatakpur in Varanasi for allegedly operating a gang that defrauded people by luring them into fake investment schemes linked to IPL gaming, police officials said.The fabricated ads were used to attract unsuspecting individuals, enticing them with promises of high returns and persuading them to invest money in online betting schemes (FOR REPRESENTATION)Police also recovered 17 mobile phones, 10 laptops, and a digital cryptocurrency wallet from their possession. A case has been filed against the arrested individuals at Cantt Police Station, and they have since been remanded to judicial custody and sent to jail.The accused allegedly used fake advertisements featuring popular YouTubers and social media influencers to attract potential victims and persuade them to invest in the fraudulent scheme.The accused were identified as Ritesh Diwakar Shukla, Ravi Yadav, and Aman Singh from Varanasi; Vikas Patel and Amit Tiwari from Jaunpur, Arpit Tiwari from Sultanpur; Aniket Kumar from Fatehpur; Saurabh Chauhan from Etawah; Rahul Maurya from Bahraich; Sachin Singh, Gaurav Chauhan, and Devesh Chauhan from Jaipur; and Ziaul Haq from Gaya, Bihar.Additional commissioner of police (Crime) Alok Priyadarshi said that police received a tip-off about illegal IPL-related betting activities. During the investigation, the gang was found to have created fake profiles on various social media platforms to promote fraudulent advertisements featuring well-known YouTubers and social media influencers, luring unsuspecting individuals into their scam.The gang allegedly used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create fake advertisements featuring popular YouTubers and social media influencers falsely endorsing betting platforms and claiming that users could earn substantial profits through betting. These fabricated advertisements were used to attract unsuspecting individuals, enticing them with promises of high returns and persuading them to invest money in online betting schemes.During interrogation, the accused revealed that the alleged mastermind of the gang is Malik, a resident of Mumbai. The gang’s operations in Varanasi were reportedly overseen by Ravi Yadav, while Ritesh Shukla, a native of Varanasi, coordinated and monitored the entire network remotely from Mumbai.The arrested youths allegedly received a six to eight percent commission on the collected funds, while the bulk of the proceeds was transferred to Mumbai.Deputy commissioner of police (Crime) Neetu Katyayan stated that interested individuals were then directed to a Telegram channel named “Malik,” where they were enrolled in the scheme. According to the police, the accused earned a six percent commission on investments made through their referrals, while the alleged kingpin behind the operation is known as “Malik.”Investigations and interrogations revealed that money was allegedly transferred from Mumbai to Varanasi and Lucknow through the hawala network in cash. The police further alleged that they subsequently laundered these illicit funds by investing them in cryptocurrency and real estate ventures.