I treated them like sisters: Diya Krishna breaks down over cheating case

Entrepreneur and influencer Diya Krishna has come forward with an emotional account of betrayal by employees she once considered family. In an interview with Manorama News, Diya shared how a group of trusted staff members orchestrated a financial fraud at her store while she was away due to pregnancy-related health issues.

Diya, who is currently eight months pregnant, explained that the fraud had been going on for nearly eight months. During the first five months of her pregnancy, she faced serious health challenges, including frequent hospital visits, and was unable to manage the store personally. “Until then, I was looking after everything—stock, cash, all of it. I was always present at the store,” she said. As her condition worsened, she informed the staff that she couldn’t be there regularly and entrusted them with running the shop. “They were like my younger sisters. I had complete faith in them.”

That trust was broken in the most unexpected way. According to Diya, the employees began telling customers that the QR code and card machine were not working, forcing them to pay in cash. They would then hide the QR code behind the store register and in some cases, insisted that customers go outside, withdraw cash, and return to complete the purchase. Discounts were offered that Diya had never authorised. “For them, even ₹10 from an unpaid item was a gain,” she said.

Three staff members were involved in the scam. The truth surfaced only after a friend of Diya’s sister mentioned something suspicious. When initially confronted, the employees denied everything. Upon being pressed further with the new information, they admitted they had taken money but claimed they had forgotten to return it. Diya asked them to repay the amount immediately, which they did at first. However, she sensed the issue might be more serious.

To verify her doubts, Diya posted a story on Instagram asking if any customers had been asked to transfer money directly to staff. The response was overwhelming. “I received over a thousand messages. Just opening a hundred of them revealed screenshots of payments made to my staff’s personal accounts.” Customers had been misled into believing Diya’s own account was unreliable. Some were told that past payments to her account had failed. One staff member even saved her UPI profile name as “Oh by Ozy,” the store’s name, to gain trust and redirect payments.

The confrontation reached its peak on the night of May 29. The employees and their husbands repeatedly called Diya, crying and pleading with her not to post further on social media. “They begged me not to inform my family—especially my father. But I had to tell them. I couldn’t let this go,” she said. Her husband, Aswin, intervened and asked them to return whatever money they could manage. To their surprise, the staff and their spouses arrived at Diya’s flat the next morning around 9:30 a.m., carrying some of the cash.

“I was shocked. I went downstairs and saw their husbands. When I saw the girls, I cried and asked, ‘What did I do to deserve this? Didn’t I treat you like sisters?’ They just cried and said sorry.” By then, Diya’s entire family had gathered. They too questioned the girls, asking how they could betray someone who was pregnant and so vulnerable. The only response was that it was a “mistake.”

Due to the crowd and the emotional tension, the group moved to Diya’s father’s office to continue the conversation. When asked again why they had done it, one of the girls finally admitted, “We don’t like you. That’s why.” She added that she didn’t like Diya’s personality. In response, Diya’s sister asked why she continued working there if she felt that way. The girl had no answer.
Diya said she couldn’t bring herself to forgive them. “It wasn’t just about money—it was about trust, and that trust was broken beyond repair. The amount they took ran into lakhs. I decided to handle it legally. I couldn’t just brush it aside.”