Dozens of distributors for The iCon Group have reaffirmed their intention to withdraw their complaints against the scandal-plagued direct sales company and its jailed executives.
According to media sources, a representative of The iCon Group, identified only as Ms Pannatorn, led between 60 and 70 company distributors to submit a letter to the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) on Friday.
Some overseas distributors also provided documents to support their intention to withdraw, according to the reports.
Ms Pannatorn said these distributors had carefully reviewed their complaints and decided they wanted to withdraw them as some of the allegations were untrue.
She joined them at the OAG offices to follow up on a pending response after submitting two rounds of letters affirming the company’s innocence.
As a representative of the company, she wanted to provide additional testimony regarding the case, she said.
She said fake news about The iCon Group had caused widespread panic among the brand’s customers, who feared they would not receive their products if they placed orders.
Ms Pannatorn reiterated that the company remains legitimate as most distributors are still able to make a profit from selling its products.
When asked about concerns regarding many individuals having submitted petitions at the Criminal Court to oppose bail for iCon Group executives, Ms Pannatorn said it was their right.
She insisted that the company conducts genuine sales, with evidence ready for scrutiny, including products that have been submitted to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
When asked how many distributors were expected to withdraw their complaints, she said that 200 had expressed their intention to do so, while around 2,000 witnesses had provided evidence to support the company.
She also said a group of distributors would visit the OAG again on Monday to provide further documents and offer moral support for the company.
Pornlapas Onchaiya, 62, said she personally used the company’s products and found them beneficial.
However, following the news reports about the fraud scandal, she felt pressured by social trends, police and even her family to file a complaint, despite initially having no intention to do so.
Now she wanted to withdraw her complaint, she said on Friday.
Yuwadee Thongma, 55, another distributor, said she had filed a complaint with police out of concern that the company’s assets might be seized, which might prevent her from receiving products stored in its warehouse.
However, she claimed that her statement was not accurately recorded by officers.
The DSI said earlier that the withdrawal of some complaints would not disrupt legal proceedings in one of the country’s most high-profile fraud cases.
Eighteen people have been detained since October on charges of public fraud and computer crime related to the aggressive recruitment of dealers to sell iCon health products.
Complainants in the case have alleged that dealers focused on more on recruiting new dealers and encouraging them to invest in products rather than on product marketing.
Investigators have reportedly received about 9,000 complaints from individuals reporting losses approaching 3 billion baht.
Prosecutors are expected to decide whether to indict the suspects in the coming week, the DSI has said.
