Three Columbia County residents have filed a lawsuit against the man they say helped a former legislator and regent defraud them of a substantial amount of money.
T. Ramachandra Reddy, Ravi Murugappan and Meena Murugappan filed the lawsuit against Dr. Jitendra Gandhi in Columbia County Superior Court on Friday, Feb. 18. Their complaint alleges Gandhi helped Clarence Dean Alford target victims in the Indian American community.
The three are seeking monetary damages, including both compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees and court costs. A lawsuit represents only one side of a dispute.
Gandhi is entered to respond and defend himself against all allegations.
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The three plaintiffs allege in their complaint that they are among numerous victims of Alford’s massive fraud scheme, a scheme that sent him to prison and obligated him to pay more than $10 million for securities fraud.
Reddy and the Murugappans, according to their lawsuit, were defrauded out of nearly $200,000 when they were persuaded to invest money through promissory notes to Alford’s company, Allied Energy Services. The plaintiffs alleged Gandhi helped Alford target Indian Americans by using his position of trust in the community.
The plaintiffs alleged they were unknowing victims of a classic Ponzi scheme disguised as a renewable energy project.
In 2015, Alford convinced many people that he had a project to convert municipal solid waste into fuel and that he was set to build a facility to do this at the Augusta landfill on Deans Bridge Road. The project was to be finished by 2019. Alford claimed he had Delta Airlines already lined up as a customer for biodiesel pellets, the lawsuit alleges.
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According to the lawsuit, in 2019 Reddy invested $100,000, Meena Murugappan invested $35,756 and Ravi Murugappan invested $41,184. They contend Gandhi got a commission for each investor. Instead of getting the principal and interest as promised for 2020, they got nothing, the lawsuit alleges.
Alford, a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, resigned from the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents after the fraudulent scheme began to unravel. In October 2021 Alford pleaded guilty to felony charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by seven years on probation.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
