The Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a 34-year-old man to 13,275 years in prison for swindling more than 2,500 people out of 570 million baht through an investment scam.
Phudit: Pleads guilty to investment fraud
However, his actual prison sentence under the law will be a maximum of 20 years.
Phudit Kittitradilok was found guilty of public fraud and money laundering in connection with an investment scam carried out from August 2015 to September 2016 via two firms, System Plug and Play Co and Innovision Holding.
His sentence is not a record. In 1989, Chamoy Thipyaso, an employee of the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, was convicted of corporate fraud and sentenced to a total of 141,078 years in prison.
Phudit was arrested in August this year by Huai Khwang police after the Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.
He was denied bail and detained at Bangkok Remand Prison.
According to prosecutors, Phudit and other accomplices who are still at large lured people into joining their investment workshops ranging from beauty and spa products to imports and exports to foreign exchanges.
The participants were later persuaded into investing with Phudit and his accomplices by buying workshop packages with a promise of 1% return per day for seminar packages they bought.
Dividends were paid every week for a year and those who brought in newcomers were promised a return of 5% for the packages purchased on top of the 1%.
According to the prosecutors, Phudit and his accomplices laundered their ill-gained assets worth more than 3.5 million baht.
Phudit denied the charges during the police investigation but pleaded guilty during his arraignment.
The court sentenced him to five years for each of the 2,653 counts of public fraud and another 10 years for money laundering. The prison term totalled 13,275 years.
Due to his confession, the court decided to reduce the jail sentence by half, to 6,637 years and six months.
The two firms Phudit controlled were each fined 663.75 million baht for fraudulent practices and ordered along with Phudit to return 574 million baht to a total of 2,653 people who fell victim to the scam.
Samart Jenchaijitwanich, chairman of the anti-pyramid investment scams association, said the trial was concluded swiftly because Phudit pleaded guilty to the charges.
Mr Samart said about 40,000 people were lured to join the scam and about 5.3 billion baht was involved. More than 2,000 people filed a complaint with the Department of Special Investigation.
He said the law on public fraud should be amended to increase penalties.
"The court has handed down 13,275 years in prison but the wrongdoers won't serve more than 20 years. The victims feel they haven't received justice and want the law changed so they can get at least 50 years," he said.
He said the victims would have to contact the Anti-Money Laundering Office to help track down their assets.
He called on the Justice Ministry to take a proactive approach in addressing pyramid investment schemes.