Former actor accused in bitcoin investment scam targeting foreigners

[webfact]

Former actor accused in bitcoin investment scam

By The Nation

 

 

A once-popular actor has been charged with gulling foreigners into transferring him more than 5,500 bitcoins as an investment.

 

Police picked up Jiratphisit Jarawitchit, 27, at noon on Wednesday at a shopping mall in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district.

 

The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for him and six alleged accomplices on July 26.

 

Jiraphisit was being detained at Crime Suppression Division headquarters pending further interrogation.

 

Police said he and the others got foreign investors to transfer them 5,564 bitcoins to invest in a cryptocurrency called dragon coin and buy shares in other firms, including X-Pay Software, NX Chain Inc and DNA 2002.

 

But the investors did not receive the promised yields and were never invited to attend shareholder meetings. Suspecting they’d been deceived, they filed complaints with the CSD.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30351809

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-08-09

[canopus1969]

Well if 1 coin is worth about 200,000 Baht that would make a pretty good scam  

[Fex Bluse]

Must say, fairly sophisticated for a young Thai actor (assuming it was indeed him) as they are normally vapid, useless organisms.

 

 

[webfact]

Police crack Bt800m bitcoin fraud

By KAMPANART LA-ONG, 
WICHIT CHAITRONG 
THE NATION

 

 

Crimes suppression division says it has solid evidence against actor’s gang.

 

POLICE have cracked down on an investment scam allegedly involving a famous actor, his siblings and some prominent Thai investors, after a foreign victim reported financial losses of almost Bt800 million. 

 

The case raised concerns about financial fraud, notably in relation to complicated digital assets, as authorities have indicated that such crimes are growing. 

 

Jiratpisit Jaravijit, a 27-year-old actor, was arrested at a filming location in Bangkok yesterday. 

 

 

“We have found solid evidence against his gang,” Crimes Suppression Division (CSD) chief Pol Maj-General Maitree Chimcherd said. 

 

The CSD chief said arrest warrants had already been issued for Jiratpisit and his older siblings Parinya and Supitcha. The actor’s siblings have not been arrested yet because they are overseas. 

 

“We have already alerted the Immigration Bureau,” Maitree said. 

 

The CSD began investigating the siblings after Aarni Otava Saarimaa, a Finnish man, lodged a complaint on January 30. 

 

“The gang lured the victim to transfer 5,564 bitcoins [equivalent to about Bt797 million] to its e-wallet, claiming the payment was for the shares of three firms, including DNA 2002 Public Company Limited. But he never received the shares after making the transfer,” Maitree said.

 

The CSD chief said the bitcoins were converted into Thai currency and then transferred to the bank account of the siblings, before the sum was divided among different gang members. 

 

“Apart from these three, there are four other suspects – most of whom are well-known businesspeople,” Maitree said. 

 

CSD deputy commander Pol Colonel Chakrit Sawasdee said the authorities had already seized land worth more than Bt200 million owned by Jiratpisit’s siblings, as investigation suggests the plots might have been bought with the ill-gotten gains.

 

“Next we will summon his parents for questioning,” he said. 

 

An informed source said Jiratpisit had denied any wrongdoing, and was insisting that the bank account under investigation was actually managed by his older brother.

 

According to Maitree, the Jaravijit family is of good financial standing and social status in Chon Buri province.

 

However, evidence suggested that the actor’s older brother, Parinya, had engaged in dubious transactions and encouraged his siblings to join in. 

 

Jiratpisit, who has featured in several TV series and commercials, was still in police custody as of press time.

 

 

According to the Bank of Thailand, complaints related to financial fraud are on the rise, with as many as 1,482 cases last year. This marked a 13.7 per cent increase from the previous year.

 

Most of the complainants had been deceived by offers made via phone calls, emails or social media. Many people were talked into investing in community enterprises, which were falsely claimed to be backed by foreign entities. 

 

Some people were deceived into investing in cryptocurrencies and pyramid schemes. In the fourth quarter of 2017 alone, there were 38 fraudulent investment cases. There is no information on how many cases were prosecuted. 

 

Thuntee Sukchotrat, an IT expert, said the lack of regulations on digital asset trading left room for syndicates to deceive people. 

 

“Now the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] has issued regulations to govern digital asset transactions, so investors are better protected,” Thuntee said. He is a co-founder of JIBEX, an exchange for cryptocurrency trading. 

 

The new regulations allow licensed security traders to sell digital assets, including cryptocurrency, to investors directly, he said. 

 

At present, there are five digital asset exchanges operating in Thailand, but they have not yet received an official licence from the SEC. They were expected to get their licence this year, he said, adding that some 20 companies were seeking licences so far. 

 

Meanwhile, Korn Chatikavanij, former finance minister and chairman of the Thai Fintech Association, warned that investing in digital assets was riskier than other types of financial assets. 

 

Investment in digital assets may be more complicated, but digital assets and block-chain technology will benefit the Thai economy in the long run, he added. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30351856

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-08-10

[Bob12345]

He is handsome and was famous... he could get away with almost anything in Thailand besides murder, stealing, or being drunk/high in public.

 

Where did he go wrong?

[nobodysfriend]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The CSD began investigating the siblings after Aarni Otava Saarimaa, a Finnish man, lodged a complaint on January 30. 

 

“The gang lured the victim to transfer 5,564 bitcoins [equivalent to about Bt797 million] to its e-wallet,

Do not trust anybody , especially when they want you to do online transfers to their bitcoin wallet .

It is good that blockchain provides proof of your payment , but , as in this case , it will be a long and difficult procedure for the victim to get (part of ) his money back when most of it is spent already ...!

But how stupid to transfer such an enormous sum without having sufficient security ...

[worgeordie]

So only one victim a Finnish man,just think how much

they could have raked in if the had targeted their fellow

citizens,there will be Thai holders of Cryptocurrencies ? ,right

doubt the brothers will be returning from overseas any time soon.

regards worgeordie

[bkkflynnsta]

2 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

He is handsome and was famous... he could get away with almost anything in Thailand besides murder, stealing, or being drunk/high in public.

 

Where did he go wrong?

Only happens when you steal from the rich, otherwise it wouldn't be worth the bother...

[janclaes47]

deleted

 

Edited August 10, 2018 by janclaes47

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, bkkflynnsta said:

Only happens when you steal from the rich, otherwise it wouldn't be worth the bother...

 And more and more nowadays when the story gets big on social media.

 

I find it strange that the organizers / perpetrators of this and many other types of scams don't realize that there's a very good chance they will get caught and get punished, possibly including jail.

 

Another slant - a few years back another professor at my university had a student who was a small bit actress, she was a member of a 'gang' who organized a scam which raked in hundreds of millions of Baht from mostly low income folks. Her name appeared in the newspapers as a member of the 'gang' when police investigate the situation. The investigation was because of social media pressure.

 

She tried to convince the other students (who were very not impressed with her activities) that's it's all OK because she's poor.

 

Progressively and quickly she went from being ignored by her student colleagues to being abused by them, but a few (all female students) supported her, they all believed it's unfair that she was being investigated, because she's a celebrity. 

 

She stopped attending classes, never heard of again, she went to jail.

Edited August 10, 2018 by scorecard

[Fex Bluse]

4 hours ago, scorecard said:

 And more and more nowadays when the story gets big on social media.

 

I find it strange that the organizers / perpetrators of this and many other types of scams don't realize that there's a very good chance they will get caught and get punished, possibly including jail.

 

Another slant - a few years back another professor at my university had a student who was a small bit actress, she was a member of a 'gang' who organized a scam which raked in hundreds of millions of Baht from mostly low income folks. Her name appeared in the newspapers as a member of the 'gang' when police investigate the situation. The investigation was because of social media pressure.

 

She tried to convince the other students (who were very not impressed with her activities) that's it's all OK because she's poor.

 

Progressively and quickly she went from being ignored by her student colleagues to being abused by them, but a few (all female students) supported her, they all believed it's unfair that she was being investigated, because she's a celebrity. 

 

She stopped attending classes, never heard of again, she went to jail.

People steal throughout the world. But Thailand is a perfect place to steal, especially when it is from foreigners. 

 

There are almost no serious consequences. Even if the family and the alleged "prominent Thai business people" are found guilty, whatever penalty theybface will be primarily for show. 

 

A few years from now, they will be clear and ever more prominent having been made far more wealthy. Thais don't care how they get money, they just admire anyone who has it.

 

Plus, from the majority of Thais, he will silently gain BIG FACE for being "clever" enough to trick those foreigners. 

Edited August 10, 2018 by Fex Bluse