Finance influencer V Harish, 27, was found dead at a rented villa near Chennai on Tuesday, with his father alleging cyberbullying, death threats and a ₹3 crore demand by Jason Samuel, CEO of venture studio Zemuria Inc.
Harish, who ran ‘Finance With Harish’ on Instagram and YouTube, had built a following of over 1.3 million on Instagram.
His father alleged that Samuel published social media posts and videos on October 18 questioning Harish’s credentials, damaging his reputation and causing severe mental distress.
Harish’s Instagram account was disabled by Meta, and a subsequent account was also taken down.
In a video recorded before his death, Harish alleged mental harassment, threats of income tax action and possible imprisonment, and claimed the person involved had invoked the names of Puducherry’s Chief Minister and an MLA.
His father also alleged threats against the family and urged police to examine the video, messages, online posts and the circumstances surrounding the account suspensions.
Samuel denied cyberbullying Harish, saying his criticism concerned the influencer’s qualifications to provide financial advice.
He claimed Harish did not hold a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Registered Investment Adviser licence and had only recently obtained an Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) Registration Number.
Samuel said he was shocked by Harish’s death and had not intended such an outcome.
Kanathur police are investigating the death and the family’s allegations.
