Ex-model nabbed for online investment fraud
published : 17 Mar 2023 at 06:51
writer: R May
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Wassayos Ngamkham
About B100 million lost by victims who fell for promise of 'guaranteed' 100% returns.
Police have arrested a former model who they say orchestrated an online investment scam, extorting over 100 million baht from victims.
Wetika Jaija, 30, was arrested at a residence in San Sai district of Chiang Mai, said Pol Maj Gen Phuthidej Boonkraphue, head of the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD).
She was charged with obtaining loans amounting to public cheating, fraud and entering false data into a computer system.
Pol Maj Gen Phuthidej said Ms Wetika had lured victims into investing in a Ponzi scheme, claiming she had won a world-class trading competition. She posted photos of her luxury items, cars and house on her Facebook page to attract people to invest.
Victims were “guaranteed” a 100% return on their investment. In the initial phase, they received consistent dividends. However, Ms Wetika subsequently stopped paying their returns and took down her social media sites.
More than 100 people had transferred their money to Ms Wetika. The damage was estimated to be at least 100 million baht, Pol Maj Gen Phuthidej said on Thursday.
Ms Wetika denied all the charges when questioned. However, police records showed that she was the subject of 11 arrest warrants issued in various provinces including Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok, Pathum Thani, Tak, Sa Kaeo and Chiang Rai.
Pol Maj Gen Phuthidej suggested that when people are offered an investment opportunity, they check to see if the business is licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also warned against investments that promise unusually high returns.
Vocabulary
- arrest warrant: a document signed by a judge allowing police to arrest someone - หมายจับ
- cheating (noun): acting in a dishonest way in order to gain an advantage คนโกง, คนหลอกลวง - การโกง
- dividends: benefits; good results - ได้เปรียบ
- extort: to try to illegally obtain something by force or threat - รีดไถ
- fall for: to allow yourself to be tricked - หลงเชื่อ
- fraud: the crime of intentionally deceiving someone or cheating in order to gain an advantage or benefit - การฉ้อโกง การหลอกลวง เล่ห์เพทุบาย
- initial: happening at the beginning of a process - ในเบื้องต้น
- lure (verb): to persuade someone to do something by making it seem very attractive - หลอกล่อ
- orchestrate: to plan and organise a complicated event or activity -
- phase: a particular period of time during the development of something - ตอน, ขั้นตอน, ช่วง, ระยะ
- ponzi scheme: an investment scam that promises big profits with little risk, older investors profit from money from new investors, but when new investors can no longer be attracted the whole thing collapses and all the later investors lose their money. (Source: Investopedia) - แชร์ลูกโซ่
- return: the amount of profit that you get from something; the amount of money you earn - เงินรายได้
- scam: a dishonest plan, especially for getting money - กลโกง, แผนร้าย
- subsequently: happening or coming after something else - ซึ่งตามมา
