The Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced Pasist Arinchapis, also known as Sin Sae Shogun, and two other defendants each to 4,355 years in jail for public fraud in the sale of membership of their online food supplement company.

Public prosecutors arraigned Sin Sae Shogun and nine other defendants in court on fraud and other charges relating to their online business Wealth Ever, which lured people into paying 9,700 baht each for membership, with the offer of free tours around Asia. 

Instead, more than 800 people who paid to join found themselves stranded and flightless at Suvarnabhumi airport on April 11 last year, having discovered their promised trip to Japan had never been booked. Total damages were estimated at 51 million baht, with 871 damaged parties.

The defendants, who had pleaded not guilty but were held without bail, were convicted of luring the plaintiffs into buying membership between January and April last year.

The Criminal Court on Wednesday found Sin Sae Shogun and two other defendants guilty on all 871 counts and sentenced them to 4,355 years in total in prison. Charges included fraudulent borrowing, running an illegal business, computer crime and customs offences for buying or accepting falsely declared imported goods. 

The court capped the time they will actually serve in prison at the maximum 20 years as required by law. Sin Sae Shogun was also fined 20,000 baht on charges of distributing food supplements with false labels. 

The court fined Wealth Ever Co, the first defendant in the case, 435.55 million baht for violations of the loan and food laws and ordered the confiscation of all the firm's food supplement products. The court ordered the four defendants to refund 51 million baht, along with 7.5% annual interest, to the 871 damaged parties. 

The other six defendants were acquitted.