The government officials in Chhattisgarh discovered an unexpected recipient under a welfare scheme for financially disadvantaged married women. The ‘beneficiary’ was found to be Sunny Leone, with her husband’s name recorded as adult film star Johnny Sins. The investigation revealed that a man from Bastar forged documents in the actor’s name to fraudulently claim benefits under the scheme, which provides a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 to women. After the anomaly was identified, the Bastar Collector ordered the Women and Child Development Department to investigate the matter. He also directed the freezing of related bank accounts, the recovery of the misappropriated funds, and the filing of a police complaint against those involved. The probe found that the culprit, identified as Virendra Joshi, used fraudulent documents belonging to an Anganwadi worker, Vedmati Joshi, to register for the scheme. Joshi had been receiving the monthly payments since March 2024 and had transferred the funds to his own account.

A police complaint has been filed against Virendra Joshi for defrauding the government, his bank account has been frozen, and recovery proceedings have begun. Disciplinary action has also been recommended against Vedmati Joshi and the supervisor responsible for the oversight. The Mahatari Vandan Scheme, introduced in 2024, offers a monthly payment of Rs 1,000 to economically disadvantaged women aged 21 and above, including those who are married, widowed, divorced, or abandoned. The eligibility requirements include being from households below the poverty line and having no immediate family members employed in government roles.