Two American women held in Thailand after allegedly caught with fake US dollars

[scorecard]

13 hours ago, amykat said:

Those funding sites you gave me ...sorry I thought you knew that. In the comments.  Updates.

 

But given the various comments about the veracity* of the gofundme, etc., websites, would you believe the comments on these sites.

 

Maybe the organizers of these 'campaigns' have posted fake comments about selling cars, houses etc. Who do you believe?

 

(* several comments that negative comments put on the go fund etc., websites have been removed.)

 

 

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

Yes, my point was that he just used a search engine to get the address .

I would have though that he would have been given the correct address by either her or the Embassy or the police and he would have then published that address.

  

 

But there's comment days ago that the police and the US embassy / consulate in CM have never been contacted by anybody in regard to these alleged crimes / activities, and that seems to continue to be the state of affairs.

 

And there's comment on the gofundme site etc., asking people to not contact both of these agencies.

 

What's the real truth about this whole saga? 

 

Is it a total and well organized beat up / scam?

 

My vote is yes and yes!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by scorecard

[sanemax]

7 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

But there's comment days ago that the police and the US embassy / consulate in CM have never been contacted by anybody in regard to these alleged crimes / activities, and there's comment on the gofundme site asking people to not contact both of these agencies.

What's the real truth about this whole saga?

Is it a total and well organized beat up / scam?

I have noticed that there have been numerous contradictions .

The U.S Embassy will not assist because its a criminal matter .

The U.S. Embassy official was in Court with them .

The U.S. Embassy hasnt been informed and they know nothing .

Sounds like its a few different people saying different things and making it up as they go along

[Rama]

How come this arrest hasn't been reported in any of the local english language websites??? Maybe a scam, but of course everything on the internet especially go fund me pages must be real....

[Djw6]

On 2/27/2018 at 10:59 AM, overherebc said:

If they're both such goody two shoes why didn't they hand it in?

Just askin'

Yeah, exactly, and who is reporting this? One of their boyfriends or a relative? 

Sounds a bit dodgy, but if there is CCTV showing them picking up the $, I might believe it.

[KneeDeep]

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

But given the various comments about the veracity* of the gofundme, etc., websites, would you believe the comments on these sites.

 

Maybe the organizers of these 'campaigns' have posted fake comments about selling cars, houses etc. Who do you believe?

 

(* several comments that negative comments put on the go fund etc., websites have been removed.)

 

 

 

Turns out that it was the boyfriend, Brandon Berlanga who was removing the comments. 

 

[amykat]

3 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

But given the various comments about the veracity* of the gofundme, etc., websites, would you believe the comments on these sites.

 

Maybe the organizers of these 'campaigns' have posted fake comments about selling cars, houses etc. Who do you believe?

 

(* several comments that negative comments put on the go fund etc., websites have been removed.)

 

 

Well I just attempted to put the info out there.  I mean, they either are honest or they are not. So the possibility exists that they are honest. Or that some people in their family are more honest than the girls who are in trouble now.  I was married to someone I did not know did dishonest things for a period, that did not make me dishonest and I was always trustworthy.  There might be nice guys at home selling everything, and who will attempt to divide up money later, and will find themselves divorced and pissed off as hell in a few years when they discover the truth, I don't know!!

[amykat]

7 hours ago, jackdd said:

I don't know and probably they don't know for sure either. Everybody will agree that they look similar, but the picture from the cctv is not really clear, so if they are the same person...

I think they probably looked up the woman in their System, then they also know who her father is and can see a picture of him from his ID card or driving license. And probably this didn't match the guy on Facebook, so it was easy for them to know that it's not the same person.

I think if they answered so quickly and definitively, that means the perp at Costco was arrested and that is how they know his identity.  And probably that is he is doing time now and not in Thailand.

 

If you look at the body types of the two, they don't seem similar. The guy here seems rather frail and thin and the guy at Costco looks rather bulky or buffed.

 

[scorecard]

39 minutes ago, KneeDeep said:

 

Turns out that it was the boyfriend, Brandon Berlanga who was removing the comments. 

 

 

And it seems that Brandon is the person who actually started the gofundme activity.

 

All of it reeks of unethical and poor morals attitudes and behaviors. 

 

 

[Crash999]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

I have noticed that there have been numerous contradictions .

The U.S Embassy will not assist because its a criminal matter .

The U.S. Embassy official was in Court with them .

The U.S. Embassy hasnt been informed and they know nothing .

Sounds like its a few different people saying different things and making it up as they go along

That always happens with these cases. People make things up and then others latch onto it as the truth, and even the media goes with it.

 

Just like that local newspaper article about the case, repeating the mistake that the money was found in Thailand. That mistake seems to have come from the boyfriend who posted before knowing the full picture. 

[KneeDeep]

9 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

And it seems that Brandon is the person who actually started the gofundme activity.

 

All of it reeks of unethical and poor morals attitudes and behaviors. 

 

 

...and he is still deleting as fast as he can.

[amykat]

Here is some info from the embassy website:

 

If you are arrested, immediately ask that a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate General be notified. If you are turned down, keep asking–politely, but persistently. If unsuccessful, try to have someone get in touch with us on your behalf.

Upon learning of your arrest, a U.S. Consular Officer will visit you, provide a list of local attorneys, inform the Department of State of your arrest and, if requested, contact family or friends in the U.S. or elsewhere*.

*Please note: the U.S. Department of State will not disclose the information you provide unless you have given us written authorization to do so. If you wish us to contact someone on your behalf, please complete the authorization form (through the link below), specifying whom a U.S. Consular Office may contact and to whom to release information with regard to your case. Please return the completed authorization to a U.S. Consular Office.

 

It seems obvious that the embassy is not set up to field calls from random strangers about cases but I believe this is saying that they have a legal obligation to say nothing.

[amykat]

A bit more from the embassy website:

 

The Thai Judicial Process

Arrest: Police may hold you for questioning for up to 48 hours without judicial review. Then, police must either release you or take you before a judge for a “show cause” hearing. There, the judge will either order your release or decide that there are reasonable grounds to continue detention for 12 days while the alleged crime is investigated.

Investigative Detention: At this point, police will transfer you from their holding cell to a remand prison. (See “The Thai Penal System,” below.) Until the prosecutor files charges, a judge must reauthorize detention every 12 days. A judge may authorize a maximum of seven 12-day investigative detention periods (84 days total). For most offenses, there is the possibility of release on bail, but you must usually provide cash or assets located in Thailand as surety.

Filing Charges: No later than 91 days after your arrest (84 days of investigation, plus 7 days for prosecutorial review), the prosecutor must file formal charges. If the judge agrees with the charges, the case enters the pre-trial period. Your attorney, the prosecutor and the court will negotiate a trial date based on their schedules and availability.

 

[Bastos60]

Is it just me, or do others get the impression that this gofundme page is a little scam?

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, Bastos60 said:

Is it just me, or do others get the impression that this gofundme page is a little scam?

OMG , youve hit the nail on the head  , no ones even considered that before .

Are you a detective ?

[Bastos60]

1 minute ago, sanemax said:

OMG , youve hit the nail on the head  , no ones even considered that before .

Are you a detective ?

OMG some people don't consider that to make a reply you don't have to sift through all the other replies first.

[Myran]

13 hours ago, KneeDeep said:

 

In addition GoFundMe are actively deleting any post that questions the story being given. That's why no comments for the past 15 hours.

 

GoFundMe aren't deleting anything, that's the handywork of the guy who started the campaign.

[agudbuk]

Guullible donators

[jackdd]

Now he changed the goal on gofundme from 50k to 15k

[Henrik Andersen]

1 hour ago, amykat said:

I think if they answered so quickly and definitively, that means the perp at Costco was arrested and that is how they know his identity.  And probably that is he is doing time now and not in Thailand.

 

If you look at the body types of the two, they don't seem similar. The guy here seems rather frail and thin and the guy at Costco looks rather bulky or buffed.

 

I wonder about this 

Do you have any connections to this ladies or family because it's seems like you know more about this end we do I have sit read all the comments and you have a very different opinions as meny members in this tread my personal opinion is they have used fake money in US as well in Cambodia and get caught in Thailand I hope someone can verify this story as a real story because meaby it is just a scam for making money on fundraising 

I have talked about this to a friend there are a police officer in Chang rai but she don't know anything about this case but she will try find out more about it 

[agudbuk]

Then , assuming the money is not fake, what would be the right thing to do ?
Just asking..[emoji99]

Take it to the police and report it to the newspapers and social mefis that you have done so.
Tell the police if no one claims it to donate it to one of the charities supported by the royal family.

[agudbuk]

I wouldn't keep it or pick it up.
 
I'd hand it in if it was a substantial amount.

The term quoted to me in my youth was "Theft by finding" if you did not report anything valuable found to the police.

[mauGR1]

1 minute ago, agudbuk said:

On 2/27/2018 at 2:01 PM, Bluespunk said:

I wouldn't keep it or pick it up.
 
I'd hand it in if it was a substantial amount.

The term quoted to me in my youth was "Theft by finding" if you did not report anything valuable found to the police.

I am sure there are some who agree with you, but less than 50%, and i'm being optimistic.

[Spaniel]

Seems this story is running out of steam.       

[yogavnture]

i think the gals should be given a fair shot. listen. money is not traceable to an owner. they found on street . how could they return it.  to whom?  the police dept?  give me a break. we dont know the amount of money involved.  but i think these girls deserve a break. ruthless can only go so far. this is not fair.  

[yogavnture]

i dont see the crime here. if they found money on street. is that a crime?  secondly if they believed the money to be real. is it a crime to try to use it.?   nowadays it isnt hard to see the character of a person. do these girls have other arrests on thier record? i hope the us embassy will help them out here

[Henrik Andersen]

1 minute ago, yogavnture said:

i dont see the crime here. if they found money on street. is that a crime?  secondly if they believed the money to be real. is it a crime to try to use it.?   nowadays it isnt hard to see the character of a person. do these girls have other arrests on thier record? i hope the us embassy will help them out here

They found 1000 US in a bag in Cambodia and all there story change all the time try read these fundraising website and facebook and if you still believe they innocent you are welcome to donate money to them 

 

[yogavnture]

2 minutes ago, Henrik Andersen said:

They found 1000 US in a bag in Cambodia and all there story change all the time try read these fundraising website and facebook and if you still believe they innocent you are welcome to donate money to them 

 

ok . lets get the story first. u are saying they found the money in a bag in Cambodia. and apparently brought it to Thailand and tryed to exhange it here. did they know it was fake money. that is key here.........because if they didnt . i still dont see the crime here. yes they should have reported the money. as a good person. but they did not steal the money. i still think they should be given  a break.   but i am american myself.  

[Henrik Andersen]

36 minutes ago, yogavnture said:

ok . lets get the story first. u are saying they found the money in a bag in Cambodia. and apparently brought it to Thailand and tryed to exhange it here. did they know it was fake money. that is key here.........because if they didnt . i still dont see the crime here. yes they should have reported the money. as a good person. but they did not steal the money. i still think they should be given  a break.   but i am american myself.  

Sorry but do you read all 29 pages here and there fundraiser sites facebook etc 

[gunderhill]

On 2/27/2018 at 12:01 PM, Darcula said:

 

Must've fallen out of a taxi, that.

Fake news  eh?