About 100 people visited the Department of Special Investigation on Friday and complained they suspect a foreign exchange company they invested with is a 40-billion-baht pyramid scheme.
They were accompanied by lawyer Ronnarong Kaewphet, who said they were clients of "Forex-3d", and they wanted the DSI to accept the case for investigation due to feared huge damage.
The company appeared to operate like a real entity because it required its customers to file written requests for "dividends" and wait for its "board of directors" to approve the payment, Mr Ronnarong said. However, payments to its customers stopped in April and May.
Mr Ronnarong said according to the Forex-3d website it had about 30,000 members living in Thailand and abroad, and a revolving fund of about 40 billion baht. It required each member to invest a minimum 50,000 baht and offered a 10% monthly return.
"These people asked the DSI to help by verifying the business of the company... Some stars who posed for photos with its CEO should clarify if they know him personally, or were hired for promotion. Fans of the stars invested in it, following their favourite stars," Mr Ronnarong said.
A woman who gave her name as Peeraporn said she had not thought the company was a ponzi scheme because it had been operating for four years. She invested a six-digit sum in it.
DSI director-general Paisit Wongmuang said officers would quickly ferret out the facts in the case, and then decide whether to take up the complaints for further investigation.
Forex-3d promotes itself as a privately owned online broker.