UDON THANI: Two more suspects, including the mother of accused fraudster Wantanee “Mae Manee” Tippaveth, were ordered detained without bail on Saturday as police continued to hear from more victims of the massive Ponzi scheme.
Wilaiwan Hongprachasap, 25, and Thawalrat Tippaveth, 47, wore jackets with hoods and face masks as they arrived at the Udon Thani provincial court.
Ms Thawalrat, the mother of the woman at the centre of the scandal, was arrested on Thursday morning in Udon Thani on charges of assisting her daughter, an allegation she denied.
Ms Wilaiwan, of Udon Thani, was a business partner and administrator of the “Fak Yod Tor Anakhot” (savings for the future) Facebook page operated by Ms Wantanee. She was arrested on Friday in Udon Thani.
Their arrests bring to seven the number of people in custody in connection with the scheme, said Pol Col Sakda Muenpho, the deputy police chief of Udon Thani.
Meanwhile, more victims kept coming to the Muang district police station on Saturday. The number of victims filing complaints has reached 313, with total losses of 147 million baht. But authorities believe many more have yet to come forward.
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is preparing to take over the Mae Manee case from the Royal Thai Police next week, as the scam is believed to have as many as 4,000 victims nationwide.
Ms Wantanee, 29, and her husband Methee Chinnapha, 20, have been accused of defrauding people who invested with them based on promises of unusually high returns of up to 93% a month.
The couple were arrested in Sattahip district of Chon Buri last Saturday and flown to Udon Thani later that day.
Ms Wantanee frequently posted photos of her lavish lifestyle and social events with celebrities to help create an image of boundless wealth. She even had a fake gold shop inside her office to convince people who followed her social media posts that she owned a gold store, Thai media reported.
Pol Lt Col Bamrung Naebchidchai, deputy superintendent of the Muang district station, and 30 investigators from all stations in Udon Thani were spending Saturday questioning victims of the Ponzi scheme.
Many admitted it was their greed that drove them to invest in the Mae Manee scheme in hopes of high returns, said investigators.
Authorities have seized assets worth 133 million baht from the suspects arrested so far. They include houses, commercial buildings, land title deeds, cars, gold ornaments, diamonds, cash and bank accounts, he added.
Three others have been arrested in addition to Ms Wantanee, her husband and mother and Ms Wilaiwan. They are Piya Khirisuwannakul, Pornsawan Phuin-oy and Suphanee Nikornkul.
All have been detained and denied bail, said Pol Col Sakda.
Some of the more than 300 people who say they were defrauded by “Mae Manee” visit the Muang district police station in Udon Thani to give statements on Saturday. (Photo by Yuttapong Kamnodnae)