A male model accused of creating an attractive social media profile to dupe people into investing in a foreign-exchange trading scam has been arrested at a luxury condominium in Bangkok.
Suraphit Pakahan, 30, was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Don Mueang Kwaeng Court for offences related to cheques, said Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thumsuthee, an investigative commander with the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB).
A criminal record check showed he had 16 more arrest warrants outstanding for fraud and offences related to cheques.
The arrest at a Thon Buri condominium on Thursday came after many people lodged complaints with police via the IDMB Facebook page. They said the suspect, who was a popular model, had persuaded them into investing in a forex trading scheme.
He created an attractive profile showing him attending seminars and training at various places, and he also claimed to have years of experience in forex trading, the complainants said.
However, he did not use the complainants’ money to invest in foreign currency as claimed, said police. Those who fell victim could not get their money back, resulting in damages of more than 10 million baht, said Pol Maj Gen Theeradet.
Police investigators learned that the suspect left the country on Nov 30, 2022 for Istanbul airport in Turkey. After that there was no travel data showing that he had returned to Thailand.
However, investigators recently obtained information about a suspect who resembled the wanted man, who was staying at a luxury condo in Thon Buri. Officers closely monitored his activity before raiding the condominium room on Thursday, said Pol Maj Gen Theeradet.
During questioning, Mr Suraphit told police that he had worked in the entertainment business since he was 19 years old. He used to be a model before setting up a company offering services about online applications, online games and other multimedia. He handled management at this company and received money from customers before hiring friends to handle those jobs.
He also invested in stock trading and used money to finance his luxury lifestyle, but he later faced financial problems.
He claimed he left the country in 2022 to take a one-year English language course in the United Kingdom. He later became homesick and wanted to return to Thailand. However, he grew worried after learning there were arrest warrants out against him, he told police.
According to the suspect, a middle-aged Malaysian woman in England offered to help him return home via Malaysia without passing immigration checkpoints.
The arresting team handed him to public prosecutors at the Don Mueang Kwaeng Court for legal action.