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The Jakarta Police have arrested a husband and wife believed to have duped 1,300 people in a fraudulent Idul Fitri savings scheme. 

Bambang and Dwinar Hermawan allegedly used a fake cooperative, Koperasi Putra Pandawa, to lure victims into a Ponzi scheme. 

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that the pair told their victims that they would receive an interest rate of between 30 percent and 50 percent if they deposited their money at the fraudulent cooperative. 

“On August 10, the Jakarta Metro Police Special Crimes Directorate arrested the two suspects … for defrauding 1,300 people through the cooperative … located on Jalan Kramat Jati in East Jakarta,” Rikwanto said. 

“The cooperative was said to have been established in early 2012 but there was no record of it being a legal entity.” 

Rikwanto said a total of Rp 600 million ($63,000) was collected from the victims and Rp 320 million of that was used by the couple to buy property. 

“At the moment the two are locked up at Jakarta Police headquarters. During the arrest, investigators confiscated computers, savings books and customers’ record books,” the officer said. “The fraud began when the suspects offered people to open a savings account for Idul Fitri. Victims were lured by the promise of profit and the flexibility of the investment.” 

Rikwanto said the scheme began to fall apart after one of the customers began to ask for his money back. 

“The suspects made it difficult for him to claim his money. That prompted others to also claim their money, but they couldn’t pay it back because there was no money left,” he said. 

Director of special crimes at the Jakarta Police, Sr. Comr. Sufyan Syarief, said officials were working to confiscate the property and other wealth that the suspects bought using customers’ money. The confiscated property will be used to reimburse victims.

The defendants face up to five years in prison if convicted.