Sibtul Hasan Shah did have some college education and a Bachelor of Science degree. Originally a school science teacher until 2005, and a resident of a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Wazirabad, he was born in Koloke, a small town of Sambrial Tehsil, in Sialkot District, Punjab. Later on, he was convicted and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. It was reported in the Pakistani newspaper, Daily Jang, that he died in prison on October 30, 2015.
After taking a leave of absence from his job, he went to Dubai where he stayed for about six months. Upon his return, he quit his job and approached his colleagues and neighbours, asking them to give him their savings, which he would return ‘in double’ in just 15 days. The first person to trust him was his next-door neighbour who owned a marble business named Javed Marble Factory. He was followed by many of Shah’s colleagues. As promised, their investments were indeed doubled in 15 days.
This was a Ponzi scheme where investors were offered 100% return on their investment in just 15 days, later extended to 70 days. Residents of Gujranwala, Gujrat, Wazirabad, Sialkot and Hafizabad were the cities where most of his clients were.
