UDON THANI: The administrator of a Facebook page run by accused fraudster Wantanee "Mae Manee" Tippaveth has been arrested in Udon Thani, bringing the number of suspects caught in the multi-million-baht Ponzi scheme to six.
Wilaiwan Hongprachasap, 25, of Udon Thani, was a business partner and administrator of the "Fak Yod Tor Anakhot" (savings for the future) Facebook page run by Ms Wantanee.
She was arrested by a team of officers led by Pol Lt Col Akkhapol Yeekor, investigations chief of Muang district police in Udon Thani.
Police initially issued warrants for the arrest of seven individuals involved in the case.
Ms Wantanee, 28, and her husband Metee Chinpa, 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 on Nov 2 and were flown to Udon Thani later that day.
The Department of Special Investigation is preparing to take over the Mae Manee case from the Royal Thai Police this week, as the scam is believed to have as many as 4,000 victims nationwide.
Pol Lt Col Bamrung Naebchidchai, deputy superintendent of the Muang district police station, and 30 investigators from other stations in Udon Thani spent yesterday interviewing the victims of the Ponzi scheme.
So far, a total of 305 victims have filed formal complaints with police in Udon Thani, claiming total losses of about 144 million baht.
Many admitted it was their greed that drove them to invest in the Mae Manee scheme in hopes of receiving high returns, said investigators.
Pol Maj Gen Yanyong Wecha-osoth, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 4, said yesterday investigators were gathering evidence to support a warrant for the arrest of one more suspect.
Authorities have seized assets worth 133 million baht from the suspects arrested so far.
Those assets include houses, commercial buildings, land title deeds, cars, gold ornaments, diamonds, cash and bank accounts.