British woman's wedding guest scam ruins dream ceremony in Thailand

[webfact]

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal

 

Photo courtesy of BBC News

 

A tale of deceit and dashed dreams emerged when a 41 year old British woman conned friends, including a bridesmaid, out of thousands for a Thailand wedding.

 

The scandal unravelled just days before Elaine and Marc Walker’s nuptials, leaving the bride’s mother footing the bill for guests’ flights.

 

In a twist of events, 41 year old Natalie Green was instructed to reimburse funds she duped from numerous individuals, including the sole bridesmaid, rocking the wedding plans of Elaine and Marc Walker from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire in 2022.

Elaine, whose mother ultimately covered the expenses for friends’ travel to Thailand, lamented that the fraud tainted her once-in-a-lifetime celebration. Green confessed to orchestrating a fraudulent ploy, deceiving a total of 19 people by promising to arrange travel and accommodation for Thailand, along with a lodge in Banff, resulting in payments totalling £7,547 (approximately 340,000 baht) between January 2021 and August 2022.

At Peterhead Sheriff Court, Green received a two-year supervision order and was mandated to refund the outstanding £5,697 as compensation, having already reimbursed £1,650.

 

Elaine Walker revealed to BBC Scotland News the heart-wrenching moment they discovered, just two days before their departure to Thailand, that flights and accommodation had not been secured. The bridesmaid broke the news amidst tears, leaving Elaine utterly stunned.

 

“My other friend Chevonne then said, ‘Natalie has taken all the money and we have not been able to get anything booked.’ I was just absolutely gobsmacked.”

 

Deception

 

Chevonne Millar, a close friend of Green’s for nearly a decade, divulged that the deception began in 2021, with Green offering to assist in arranging travel and accommodation for the group.

 

“We all had time to save up money and put towards flights and accommodation, so we just started paying in instalments, bank transfers. The first was about £800 for the flights.”

 

Green, masquerading as a friendly travel agent, assured them she needed funds for various accommodations in Thailand and for the wedding resort itself.

 

Millar admitted they initially had no suspicions as Green provided screenshots of what appeared to be bookings. However, the truth emerged just before departure when Green confessed to another friend, leaving Millar devastated. Millar had contributed approximately £1,500.

 

“I was extremely upset that she could have broken my trust in that way. Then I was extremely angry.”

 

The bride and groom, fortunately, were unaffected, having made separate arrangements. However, Elaine’s mother was shocked to learn she had unknowingly footed the bill for friends’ flights, spending around £11,000 to ensure their presence, reported BBC News.

 

“The fraud had badly affected what should have been the most perfect day of my life.”

 

Green, plagued by debt and health issues, expressed remorse through her solicitor, acknowledging the loss of friendships as a consequence of her actions.

 

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of BBC News

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-04-11

 

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[thaibeachlovers]

"Friends" can be the worst scammers of all, as I well know having been cheated out of a year's income by a 30 year friend, now very definitely an ex friend. May he rot in hell.

 

BTW, people don't go to Thailand for their "nuptials" if that means a legal marriage, but just for the ceremony which has no legal standing. Unless, of course, they go to the amphur and fulfill all the legal requirements first.

Edited April 10 by thaibeachlovers

[Joe Farang]

Going someplace.....

Book your own flight and hotel. It's easy

No need to hand it over to someone else.

[smedly]

Marc Walker ?

 

this story sounds like a pile dung 

 

 

big fat wedding 

[Colabamumbai]

So Banff is in Thailand, not Alberta. 

[sammieuk1]

Natalie Green was very very mean unfriend her from facebook immediately 🤔

[Skipalongcassidy]

A great opportunity to Thai bash... don't miss it... only a Thai would do this because they are so corrupt.

[Scottie12]

The original Banff is in Aberdeenshire in Scotland as is the original Calgary which is on the isle of Mull. There,that's your geography lesson for today.

[ikke1959]

Never let Thais arrange things if money is involved... They all scam you....Even with small amounts although that is not so bad, but in a Western country when someone goes to a shop for something, when they come back they give the money that is left.. However in Thailand mostly or they bought something extra for themselves or don't give the money back...Can you imagine if it goes with bigger amounts...

[Shoeless Joe]

2 hours ago, smedly said:

Marc Walker ?

 

this story sounds like a pile dung 

 

 

big fat wedding 

Smedly?

 

Your "story" IS a pile dung

 

Big fat know nothing

[inactiveposter]

Is Aseannow going back in the archives? This was from 2022. Yesterday there was a story about the Jolie/Pitt vacation in Phuket. 

[jacko45k]

33 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Never let Thais arrange things if money is involved... They all scam you....Even with small amounts although that is not so bad, but in a Western country when someone goes to a shop for something, when they come back they give the money that is left.. However in Thailand mostly or they bought something extra for themselves or don't give the money back...Can you imagine if it goes with bigger amounts...

It's sad but often true. I recall when working here a colleague gave the Thai driver 100 baht to get him a phone credit card. He got 1x50 baht and put 50 on his own phone without even asking. If you give them 1000 to fill the vehicle, it gets 500 bahts worth! 

[2baht]

2 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

Natalie Green was very very mean unfriend her from facebook immediately 🤔

Then there was Natalie Green 

Rather a drama queen

she duped her friends 

that's where it ends

that woman is just so mean!

[sungod]

19 minutes ago, inactiveposter said:

Is Aseannow going back in the archives? This was from 2022. Yesterday there was a story about the Jolie/Pitt vacation in Phuket. 

Maybe the court case has just come up?

[ignore it]

Interesting 

A reverse gofund me.

 

 

[brianthainess]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The bride and groom, fortunately, were unaffected, having made separate arrangements.

What was the Grooms role in all this, was he aware what was going on, is he Thai or a Brit ?   

[CanadaSam]

29 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

What was the Grooms role in all this, was he aware what was going on, is he Thai or a Brit ?

 

Does the name Marc Walker (the groom) sound Thai to you?

[brianthainess]

9 minutes ago, CanadaSam said:

 

Does the name Marc Walker (the groom) sound Thai to you?

Oops missed that, but still doesn't answer my question if he knew about the scam.

[newbee2022]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal

 

Photo courtesy of BBC News

 

A tale of deceit and dashed dreams emerged when a 41 year old British woman conned friends, including a bridesmaid, out of thousands for a Thailand wedding.

 

The scandal unravelled just days before Elaine and Marc Walker’s nuptials, leaving the bride’s mother footing the bill for guests’ flights.

 

In a twist of events, 41 year old Natalie Green was instructed to reimburse funds she duped from numerous individuals, including the sole bridesmaid, rocking the wedding plans of Elaine and Marc Walker from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire in 2022.

Elaine, whose mother ultimately covered the expenses for friends’ travel to Thailand, lamented that the fraud tainted her once-in-a-lifetime celebration. Green confessed to orchestrating a fraudulent ploy, deceiving a total of 19 people by promising to arrange travel and accommodation for Thailand, along with a lodge in Banff, resulting in payments totalling £7,547 (approximately 340,000 baht) between January 2021 and August 2022.

At Peterhead Sheriff Court, Green received a two-year supervision order and was mandated to refund the outstanding £5,697 as compensation, having already reimbursed £1,650.

 

Elaine Walker revealed to BBC Scotland News the heart-wrenching moment they discovered, just two days before their departure to Thailand, that flights and accommodation had not been secured. The bridesmaid broke the news amidst tears, leaving Elaine utterly stunned.

 

“My other friend Chevonne then said, ‘Natalie has taken all the money and we have not been able to get anything booked.’ I was just absolutely gobsmacked.”

 

Deception

 

Chevonne Millar, a close friend of Green’s for nearly a decade, divulged that the deception began in 2021, with Green offering to assist in arranging travel and accommodation for the group.

 

“We all had time to save up money and put towards flights and accommodation, so we just started paying in instalments, bank transfers. The first was about £800 for the flights.”

 

Green, masquerading as a friendly travel agent, assured them she needed funds for various accommodations in Thailand and for the wedding resort itself.

 

Millar admitted they initially had no suspicions as Green provided screenshots of what appeared to be bookings. However, the truth emerged just before departure when Green confessed to another friend, leaving Millar devastated. Millar had contributed approximately £1,500.

 

“I was extremely upset that she could have broken my trust in that way. Then I was extremely angry.”

 

The bride and groom, fortunately, were unaffected, having made separate arrangements. However, Elaine’s mother was shocked to learn she had unknowingly footed the bill for friends’ flights, spending around £11,000 to ensure their presence, reported BBC News.

 

“The fraud had badly affected what should have been the most perfect day of my life.”

 

Green, plagued by debt and health issues, expressed remorse through her solicitor, acknowledging the loss of friendships as a consequence of her actions.

 

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of BBC News

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-04-11

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe
 

 

 

There is only one way for consolidation: gofund me !!😂🥳🤣😄

[orchis]

3 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Never let Thais arrange things if money is involved...

Are you trying for 'Whataboutism of the Year'? The perpetrator of the fraud here was a Scottish woman named Natalie Green.

[smedly]

4 hours ago, Shoeless Joe said:

Smedly?

 

Your "story" IS a pile dung

 

Big fat know nothing

555

[Tich]

What a horrible women

[billd766]

10 hours ago, jacko45k said:

It's sad but often true. I recall when working here a colleague gave the Thai driver 100 baht to get him a phone credit card. He got 1x50 baht and put 50 on his own phone without even asking. If you give them 1000 to fill the vehicle, it gets 500 bahts worth! 

I never had a problem like that in all the years I worked here with a driver.

 

My wife usually fills the car and gives me the receipt. She is also the one who draws the money from the bank, brings it home and gives it to me.

 

Perhaps she is different to other Thais.  

[jacko45k]

11 hours ago, billd766 said:

I never had a problem like that in all the years I worked here with a driver.

 

My wife usually fills the car and gives me the receipt. She is also the one who draws the money from the bank, brings it home and gives it to me.

 

Perhaps she is different to other Thais.  

We had a Venezuelan driver who did the same, and fuel there was so cheap it was worth only pennies. (He got fake receipts mostly). My lady fills my truck usually, as she has some discount card she wants to use, of course she is trustworthy. But not far away a friend gave his lady money towards a family funeral ...only half of it made it there. Another picked his car up and they had swapped his new battery for an old one, that happened to my Mrs phone too....(back when they were removable)... Neighbour's Thai MIL used to send daughter out with her ATM to get cash... she only got part of what was withdrawn.

Bought some button batteries once, the price, written in Thai was clear, but double that to me!

All part of the fun of living here.

[scorecard]

On 4/11/2024 at 3:43 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

"Friends" can be the worst scammers of all, as I well know having been cheated out of a year's income by a 30 year friend, now very definitely an ex friend. May he rot in hell.

 

BTW, people don't go to Thailand for their "nuptials" if that means a legal marriage, but just for the ceremony which has no legal standing. Unless, of course, they go to the amphur and fulfill all the legal requirements first.

 

Could be money, could be...

 

Years back, in Bkk, I couldn't find my quite new, quite expensive new hi-tech camera (way before smartphone cameras).

 

I mentioned to my best friend and work colleague I couldn't find it. He came to my apartment and we did a very detailed / structured search.

 

Camera not found.

 

A few days later friends Thai GF came to the office. I noticed a camera around her neck, she had never done this before. I wondered and asked her If I could take a closer look, she took it off her neck and gave it to me with lots of comments about the wonderful new hi-tech in the camera etc., and about the camera being a birthday gift from her farang BF.

 

I turned it over and sure enough I saw the several scuff marks which I could connect to several incidents when I was handling the camera when it was in my possession.

 

I took my 'best farang friend' aside and asked where he got the money to pay for the camera, he had been borrowing money from me and other work colleagues regularly. And I asked him to turn the camera over and tell me if there were several scuff marks near / not neat the facility to screw the camera onto a tripod. He said 'yes'.

 

He froze for a few seconds and I then accused him of stealing the camera from me.

 

He admitted he had stolen it 2 weeks earlier from my apartment, and he said 'I didn't have any money to buy her a birthday gif, so what else would you expect me to do'.

 

Unbeknown to me and my 'best buddy' our farang boss had been listening. Boss joined the discussion and said to the other farang 'You are dismissed, give me your work permit now, it will be cancelled later today and I will tell the visa agency the details and insist they cancel your visa within 24 hrs'.

 

He flew out the next day, the company paid for his ticket but deducted the ticket cost from salary not yet paid. Never heard of again.

 

Camera returned to me, I gave it to a charity organization.

 

 

[scorecard]

14 hours ago, billd766 said:

I never had a problem like that in all the years I worked here with a driver.

 

My wife usually fills the car and gives me the receipt. She is also the one who draws the money from the bank, brings it home and gives it to me.

 

Perhaps she is different to other Thais.  

 

I had no hesitation to trust my Thai wife (Dr. of medicine, sadly departed).

 

- I have never had any reason whatever to not trust son

- I have never had any reason whatever to not trust my Thai daughter in law

- I have never had any reason whatever to not trust my 3 Thai granddaughters

 

Before debit cards / bank apps, with all of them we've been in restaurants and shops and I've given them my wallet and they know to take whatever cash is needed to pay the bill.

Now I give them my wallet, they take my debit card or my smartphone and use it the bill, never been any problem. But they all know to give me the receipt or whatever. 

               

             ********************************************

 

But, my company changed my work location requiring me to drive 70 km to work and home again every day. Company arranged a driver. 

 

Driver seemed OK until the tyres needed replacing, I asked him to take the car to a tyre place and replace all the tyres with new suitable tyres. I asked around about cost and gave my driver enough cash to get new tyres.

 

That evening I noticed nise that wasn't previously evident. I spoke to the qualified company mechanic and mentioned new tyres had been fitted. He took a look / drove the car a few km then said:

 

- The NEW tyres are not NEW, they are well used second hand tyres.

- The NEW tyres are not suitable for this car.

- All of the 'NEW' tyres are worn a lot more on one edge of the tyre compared to the other edge of the tyre. 

 

- Mechanic gave me a written report and a copy went to the HR dept.

- Same day my driver was dismissed and next day I got a new driver. 

Edited April 12 by scorecard