The former president of the Triangle Area Telugu Association (TATA) of North Carolina, Arun Kumar Neppalli, was taken into custody on January 17, 2023 for a scam involving investments. Arun had also held positions as a board member of the Hindu Society of North Carolina and as president of the Twin Lakes Master Association in Cary, NC.
He is well-known within the Indian community in the metropolitan area of the Piedmont region of North Carolina, commonly known as the Research Triangle, which is centered around the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. He was employed as a traffic engineer in Chapel Hill between 2000 and 2021.
It appears that Arun obtained money from his investors by utilizing a Ponzi scheme and exploiting the trust and relationships he had built within the Indian community. The 56-year-old Arun Kumar has filed for bankruptcy. He is expected to stand trial later this year and could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
The FBI is currently conducting an investigation.
