A 30-year-old internet idol has been charged by police over her ties to an investment scam ring which has defrauded dozens of people out of at least 200 million baht.
Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) commissioner, Pol Lt Gen Thiti Saengsawang, said yesterday that MPB officers, along with members of the Police Cyber Taskforce 5 (PCT5), raided a condominium on Pracha Rat Road in Bang Sue district on Saturday, where they arrested Waranrapat, also known as Mind, with a warrant issued by the Criminal Court on Friday.
The suspect, whose surname was withheld, has over 200,000 followers on her social media accounts. Back in 2018, Waranrapat began claiming on her Facebook account that she could acquire gold bars at below-market prices.
Dozens of people believed her claim and transferred their savings to Waranrapat's account to buy gold bars from her.
At first, the victims received the returns they were promised, prompting them to promote the scheme to their friends and relatives.
After a while, Waranrapat disappeared, prompting the victims to realise that they had been scammed. They filed reports with the police.
"We believe a lot more people fell victim to the scam because she has more than 200,000 followers on her social media accounts.
"The damage has been estimated to be as high as 200 million baht,'' said Pol Lt Gen Thiti.
The suspect has been charged with fraud, illegal borrowing and inputting false information to the internet. Waranrapat denied all of the allegations, saying that she was also a victim.