Seagull Software scam loses attention

Unlike the frenzy which surrounded the GoldQuest pyramid scheme after it broke, the Seagull Softwares scam has lost most of the considerable attention it garnered even from the alleged victims.

It has become as elusive as the two masterminds behind the scam, Rajkumar and Dominic, Indian nationals who fled the scene of the crime and not to be seen since then. While the duo managed to dupe thousands of people and turned the Seagull Softwares office at Mount Lavinia into a protest zone, nothing has come out of any purported investigations into the fraud.

Harren Tennakoon, President of the Seagull Softwares Members Association told The Sunday Times FT that the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) which was conducting the investigation has not communicated with the members since news of the scam first broke out. "The CID told us to give them any information that we know. That's it," Tennakoon said. "A lot of members have given up now because too much time has passed. Members are not asking me about it and even I have given up. There was no support from the government. Too much time has passed.” The optimism the members once had is all but gone.

Seagull Softwares (Pvt) Ltd was a BPO or Business Process Outsourcing scheme, headed by the two Indians. Most of the alleged victims work in the IT field and were lured in by the promise of big money for doing practically nothing at all, just some simple data entry which amounted to around 20 minutes per week. However, the victims who heavily invested in this scheme were left with nothing. A website for the Seagull members had been established immediately after news of the scam became public knowledge but even the site does not have any updates or new information on the investigation. It was created to safeguard the rights of the members who invested by getting back the money, get the monthly salary which was part of the Seagull contract entered into by the investors and to get proper compensation. The website also states that the members want to ensure that in the future, the government will take steps to protect the public from such organizations. However, the Central Bank has issued several warnings to the public to be wary of these kinds of pyramid schemes after GoldQuest but unfortunately, not many were paying attention.