Enforcement Directorate Unveils Fraud at Good Shepherd Schools: Misuse of Donations and Misrepresentation of Students
The Hyderabad Zonal Office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached ₹3.58 crore worth of immovable properties in a money laundering investigation involving Good Shepherd Schools run across India by the Operation Mobilisation (OM India) network of charitable organisations. The investigation was conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The investigation was initiated following a FIR registered by the Telangana CID, which uncovered a large-scale organised fraud within Operation Mercy India Foundation (OMIF) and its affiliates. The CID chargesheet stated that OM India leaders, including Dr. Joseph D'Souza and his son Josh Lawrence D'Souza, systematically moved funds into private accounts, fixed deposits, and real estate purchases.
Investigators reported the diversion of ₹296.6 crore worth of domestic and foreign donations meant for educational and welfare programmes targeting Dalit and marginalised children. Despite presenting Good Shepherd Schools as providers of free English-medium education, the ED found that tuition fees, book charges, uniform fees, and bus fees were collected from all students, including those portrayed to donors as fully sponsored. Records that should have shown zero-fee students were allegedly disguised as “local donations” to hide revenue.
One of the most serious allegations highlighted by the ED involves misrepresenting ordinary students as “joginis” - a term for sexually exploited temple attendants to foreign donors. The organisation allegedly portrayed regular schoolchildren and unrelated minors as rescued “joginis” to secure higher monthly sponsorships, typically USD 60-68, as compared to the usual USD 20-28 given for standard child sponsorship. ED noted that no such rehabilitation programme existed, and images of unrelated children were uploaded on donor websites to solicit inflated funding.
ED’s forensic analysis uncovered manipulation of student data at scale, including multiple student codes assigned to the same child, different students shown under the same code, and altered personal details such as photos, dates of birth, caste, and parents' names. Though the accused attempted to withhold historic records citing data-retention limits, electronic evidence recovered during searches showed that OMIF maintained detailed datasets for years to support false donation claims.
The agency further found that Good Shepherd Schools received substantial government funding under the Right to Education and scholarship schemes. Instead of reimbursing these benefits to students, an amount of ₹15.37 crore was identified to be routed to OMIF’s head office accounts and concealed from foreign donors who believed they were supporting free education. Between 2014-17, funds meant for books, uniforms, and transport were diverted to Good Shepherd Community Society (GSCS), an entity engaged in religious activities. These funds were recorded as local donations and allegedly used for church expenses and property acquisition. ED also flagged extravagant foreign travel, including business-class flights by key office-bearers, all of which were funded through diverted money.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier refused renewal of (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) FCRA licences for several OM India entities and froze their accounts. ED now alleges the organisation continued to receive foreign funds by routing them through OM Books Foundation using fabricated printing invoices to bypass FCRA restrictions. The Directorate has maintained that further investigation is ongoing to trace remaining proceeds of crime and identify additional entities involved in the network.
