Irish man claims his house, land worth Bt65 million defrauded

[harryfrompattaya]

Will foreigners ever learn ?

It is simple keep you money and investment in your home country and bring over each month what you want to spend or give away.

Thailand is great as no alimony and no common law marriage

Just understand you mate is for you money and she for you to enjoy.

Do not even talk to her except about food and where we are going.

From the time you mate gets up to go to sleep she thinking how to get you money

And the ones that have a job forget about they are number one con artist as you can not keep a eye on her

But she has fools watching you

Edited June 4, 2015 by harryfrompattaya

[MaeJoMTB]

Will foreigners ever learn ?

It is simple keep you money and investment in your home country and bring over each month what you want to spend or give away.

Thailand is great as no alimony and no common law marriage

Just understand you mate is for you money and she for you to enjoy.

Do not even talk to her except about food and where we are going.

From the time you mate gets up to go to sleep she thinking how to get you money

And the ones that have a job forget about they are number one con artist as you can not keep a eye on her

But she has fools watching you

Crikey, and everyone says I am bitter!

[falangjim]

........... Full quote deleted because of messed formatting,,,,,,,,,,

Ive always said to family and others..Thailand and Thais will NEVER let you make money here and walk away.<full stop>

am just saying a little compassion couldnt be to hard ab ask?

Sorry -- but you show your reliance on a nanny state if you expect compassion. Farangs arrive here with great ideas about how they can "make money" in Thailand -- but all based on their perceptions of the system in their home country -- totally different to Thailand. It is the height of stupidity - and in many ways it is extremely arrogant - to think you can roll up in a foreign country and do better than the locals. He might have start with a bankroll, but to imagine that the locals don't have bigger bankrolls is what makes him arrogant. I've done business in loads of countries away from the westerns ones and it's the same everywhere. The stupid, arrogant farang/gringo/foreigner gets taken down to size every time. You can have perfect paperwork for your shell companies, but if the "intent" is to circumvent the spirit of the local laws, they will find a way to take you down.

As the old saying goes -- if you want to have a million in Thailand - start with 2 million.

Those posters who witter on about not being able to transfer enough money in per month are blowing smoke. You can easily transfer a large income every month and no questions asked about where it comes from. There are some limits on large amounts of cash through the airport, but the limits are high, in terms of personal income.

Really -- leave your nest egg(s) in your safe haven and stop trying to make money out of an economy that can't sustain the basic rights of it own people.

I rolled up and do earn more than most locals. I think it's simply because I am more educated and work hard. Not a hard combination.

[Squeegee]

Tell me is there any shortage of trolls on here, a guy and his family have had everything stolen on them, they are fellow expats and from what i read, just drivel comes out of some people statements, quick and short troll comments, have you guys no intelligence or emphaty, what if it happened to you or your best mate or your family??

2 children locked in a water well and only for a neighbour found them they could have died!

Properties stolen with the full knowledge fo the family lawyer.

Trolls should be banned and their IP blocked in such circumstances. The whole meaning of an expat community is the word Community, a place of support and protection

And yet... your post has 150 Likes at the time of my writing this, compared to how many for most other recent posts? Seems the glass is indeed still half full here in Thailand. There may yet still be a glimmer of hope.

[taxin]

Tell me is there any shortage of trolls on here, a guy and his family have had everything stolen on them, they are fellow expats and from what i read, just drivel comes out of some people statements, quick and short troll comments, have you guys no intelligence or emphaty, what if it happened to you or your best mate or your family??

2 children locked in a water well and only for a neighbour found them they could have died!

Properties stolen with the full knowledge fo the family lawyer.

Trolls should be banned and their IP blocked in such circumstances. The whole meaning of an expat community is the word Community, a place of support and protection

And yet... your post has 150 Likes at the time of my writing this, compared to how many for most other recent posts? Seems the glass is indeed still half full here in Thailand. There may yet still be a glimmer of hope.

Have I missed something here, is this Thai Visa or Facebook ?

Do you now have to have so many "likes" on your post before it can be taken seriously ?

How very sad this website has turned out to be !

[Scottish Gary]

Tell me is there any shortage of trolls on here, a guy and his family have had everything stolen on them, they are fellow expats and from what i read, just drivel comes out of some people statements, quick and short troll comments, have you guys no intelligence or emphaty, what if it happened to you or your best mate or your family??

2 children locked in a water well and only for a neighbour found them they could have died!

Properties stolen with the full knowledge fo the family lawyer.

Trolls should be banned and their IP blocked in such circumstances. The whole meaning of an expat community is the word Community, a place of support and protection

You're coming to the wrong place if you're looking for empathy. The is the angry jaded farang portal of Thailand. Always has been. Always will be. Accept it.

This forum is populated by holiday makers,skint pensioners and dreamers.....The majority of posters on here will never lose that kind of money because they will never have that amount of money in the first place. This Irish guy operates on a totally different level to the 300 baht a day Thai visa big spenders

[Badbanker]

The problem is this travesty of justice has gone on for more than 5 years and Mr. Vard has spent millions of baht on lawyers in Phuket that he thought he could trust, but who were in league with the money lenders and mafia in Phuket.

He is broke and now under a witness protection program of the Thai Government.

Combined, several of these lawyers made close to 10 million baht in legal fees but did not discharge their duties properly. These lawyers made huge amounts of fees and also decided because he didn't read Thai they could take over all his assets in coordination with his wife, without him knowing about it, till it could not be undone and they had 50+ million baht.

Having a Junta in power, and with these people being particularly concerned about being seen to be doing the right thing with foreign investors and the foreign media, the Royal Thai Police have decided it is time to spill some blood and set things back the way they should be.

All I can say is there are a number (30) of very worried Phuket police, lawyers, land office officials and money lenders now back in Phuket that have spent 2 + days sitting in front of Justice Department officials, Police Commissioners, AMLO and other various agencies at police headquarters in Bangkok explaining and having their butts kicked so hard many of them know they are going to be fired. It also looks like a major bank with be sued for money laundering the proceeds of crime!

At the moment Justice Department officials are collecting all the documentation on the about 10 legal cases and reviewing them as a whole, before undoing things and firing the people involved.

I spoke to Colin last night and he said he amazed how cooperative and helpful the Police Commissioner and the Royal Thai Police have been since they became aware of it. Of course having some major foreign media involved has helped!

It will be interesting to see how things will turn out!

[teebe]

In my opinion, northern latitude born people are subject to nature, she offers little and men has to do the remain.

For who born in a paradise nature give all, no one die starved, men have to rest or find the best, the richest, the wealthy and use them as a banana tree, strip off and eaten.

Mercy is a religious invention, no matter of latitude, once your belly is filled up go the temple and make your offer for another one and forgiveness to their families. The looser should understand and please to be still alive, and make his offer as well.

Tropical weather is dark, in a shade of sunshine.

[nev]

The problem is this travesty of justice has gone on for more than 5 years and Mr. Vard has spent millions of baht on lawyers in Phuket that he thought he could trust, but who were in league with the money lenders and mafia in Phuket.

He is broke and now under a witness protection program of the Thai Government.

Combined, several of these lawyers made close to 10 million baht in legal fees but did not discharge their duties properly. These lawyers made huge amounts of fees and also decided because he didn't read Thai they could take over all his assets in coordination with his wife, without him knowing about it, till it could not be undone and they had 50+ million baht.

Having a Junta in power, and with these people being particularly concerned about being seen to be doing the right thing with foreign investors and the foreign media, the Royal Thai Police have decided it is time to spill some blood and set things back the way they should be.

All I can say is there are a number (30) of very worried Phuket police, lawyers, land office officials and money lenders now back in Phuket that have spent 2 + days sitting in front of Justice Department officials, Police Commissioners, AMLO and other various agencies at police headquarters in Bangkok explaining and having their butts kicked so hard many of them know they are going to be fired. It also looks like a major bank with be sued for money laundering the proceeds of crime!

At the moment Justice Department officials are collecting all the documentation on the about 10 legal cases and reviewing them as a whole, before undoing things and firing the people involved.

I spoke to Colin last night and he said he amazed how cooperative and helpful the Police Commissioner and the Royal Thai Police have been since they became aware of it. Of course having some major foreign media involved has helped!

It will be interesting to see how things will turn out!

Keep up the good work mate, and it is nice to see there is good police out their who are helping.

[jpinx]

The problem is this travesty of justice has gone on for more than 5 years and Mr. Vard has spent millions of baht on lawyers in Phuket that he thought he could trust, but who were in league with the money lenders and mafia in Phuket.

He is broke and now under a witness protection program of the Thai Government.

Combined, several of these lawyers made close to 10 million baht in legal fees but did not discharge their duties properly. These lawyers made huge amounts of fees and also decided because he didn't read Thai they could take over all his assets in coordination with his wife, without him knowing about it, till it could not be undone and they had 50+ million baht.

Having a Junta in power, and with these people being particularly concerned about being seen to be doing the right thing with foreign investors and the foreign media, the Royal Thai Police have decided it is time to spill some blood and set things back the way they should be.

All I can say is there are a number (30) of very worried Phuket police, lawyers, land office officials and money lenders now back in Phuket that have spent 2 + days sitting in front of Justice Department officials, Police Commissioners, AMLO and other various agencies at police headquarters in Bangkok explaining and having their butts kicked so hard many of them know they are going to be fired. It also looks like a major bank with be sued for money laundering the proceeds of crime!

At the moment Justice Department officials are collecting all the documentation on the about 10 legal cases and reviewing them as a whole, before undoing things and firing the people involved.

I spoke to Colin last night and he said he amazed how cooperative and helpful the Police Commissioner and the Royal Thai Police have been since they became aware of it. Of course having some major foreign media involved has helped!

It will be interesting to see how things will turn out!

Indeed the world is full of corruption, and Thailand has more than it's fair share. I hope the guy gets some relief, but more importantly -- I really hope that he has learned his lesson and many others will also learn from it. Unless you are "connected", doing business in a country like Thailand, Egypt, Peru, Kenya, etc needs to be strictly according to "don't put in more than you're prepared to lose" -- because you probably will. The other trick is knowing when to fold,,,,,

.....that list of countries is not random -- it's first hand experience

[Pikeybkk]

Tell me is there any shortage of trolls on here, a guy and his family have had everything stolen on them, they are fellow expats and from what i read, just drivel comes out of some people statements, quick and short troll comments, have you guys no intelligence or emphaty, what if it happened to you or your best mate or your family??

2 children locked in a water well and only for a neighbour found them they could have died!

Properties stolen with the full knowledge fo the family lawyer.

Trolls should be banned and their IP blocked in such circumstances. The whole meaning of an expat community is the word Community, a place of support and protection

Just because someone has an opinion that you do not agree with does not make the comment a troll posting.

This man comes to Thailand, starts spending huge amounts of money without any understanding of what he is getting into an still believed he owned something.

He was destined to become a victim the moment he stepped off the plane, and there will be many more behind him.

Yes I feel sorry for him, but before splashing out huge sums of money in a foreign land he needs to read up and understand what due diligence is all about.

firsly, he well understands what diligence is, his lawyer was involved in the scams, secondly, troll posts are generally negative and smart arsed 1 comment negative posts , so no yours is not, yours is an opinion which i am happy to reply to, have a nice day.

[slipperylobster]

Why are we always fed the s.o.s. about people losing money here in Thailand.

Is there anything else new, or interesting?

Next week, we will be reading a similar story. Investing here is risky. We all know that....

However, the few people who come out winners say it can be done.

My guess is that for every winner...there are hundreds of losers..

Well....good luck getting his money back...like to see it happen.

[Badbanker]

I have been here 27 years and I haven't lost any money!

The point of all these threads is to point out what to be careful about. We hear a few horror stories of lots of bad experience.

I also know of thousands of people who have acted in a prudent manner and invested and used a good lawyer and done very well for themselves in legitimate business.

Its about finding a lawyer and getting a good strategy in place to make sure you succeed in your investments.

If Thailand was such a nightmare for foreigners investing and living, no one would come here or invest here?

I hear all the trolls and bar room lawyers trying to give advice when most of them have absolutely no idea what is really happening!

Just because you change countries doesn't mean there aren't laws and you shouldn't exercise prudent business investment strategies as in any other country.

So many people sign documents in a language that they have absolutely no idea what has been written and it does come back to bite them.

Play safe

[jpinx]

Just because someone has an opinion that you do not agree with does not make the comment a troll posting.

This man comes to Thailand, starts spending huge amounts of money without any understanding of what he is getting into an still believed he owned something.

He was destined to become a victim the moment he stepped off the plane, and there will be many more behind him.

Yes I feel sorry for him, but before splashing out huge sums of money in a foreign land he needs to read up and understand what due diligence is all about.

firsly, he well understands what diligence is, his lawyer was involved in the scams, secondly, troll posts are generally negative and smart arsed 1 comment negative posts , so no yours is not, yours is an opinion which i am happy to reply to, have a nice day.

I have been here 27 years and I haven't lost any money!

The point of all these threads is to point out what to be careful about. We hear a few horror stories of lots of bad experience.

I also know of thousands of people who have acted in a prudent manner and invested and used a good lawyer and done very well for themselves in legitimate business.

Its about finding a lawyer and getting a good strategy in place to make sure you succeed in your investments.

If Thailand was such a nightmare for foreigners investing and living, no one would come here or invest here?

I hear all the trolls and bar room lawyers trying to give advice when most of them have absolutely no idea what is really happening!

Just because you change countries doesn't mean there aren't laws and you shouldn't exercise prudent business investment strategies as in any other country.

So many people sign documents in a language that they have absolutely no idea what has been written and it does come back to bite them.

Play safe

These comments highlight the nub of the problem. What USA folks call "due diligence" is necessary on the lawyers. You can't walk into a lawyers office off the street, you need to have the connections to know which lawyer is actually following the law. Even in western countries there are crooked lawyers but people generally have the protection of whatever legal body controls lawyers. In a country where you are a stranger, unfamiliar with the language and the usual legal processes, choosing a lawyer is the first and biggest challenge.

I do hope he gets some satisfaction - even if it is just to see people locked up, but given the way the legal system here seems to dish out token punishments, I'm not holding my breath. Taking a bank to court is going to be interesting -- to say the least. Possibly some private settlement will be levered. Very interesting thread to watch -- given the clean-up campaign currently being run. let's hope the thread doesn't go quiet, as other interesting but sensitive ones have in the past.

[CiaranO]

Tell me is there any shortage of trolls on here, a guy and his family have had everything stolen on them, they are fellow expats and from what i read, just drivel comes out of some people statements, quick and short troll comments, have you guys no intelligence or emphaty, what if it happened to you or your best mate or your family??

2 children locked in a water well and only for a neighbour found them they could have died!

Properties stolen with the full knowledge fo the family lawyer.

Trolls should be banned and their IP blocked in such circumstances. The whole meaning of an expat community is the word Community, a place of support and protection

You're coming to the wrong place if you're looking for empathy. The is the angry jaded farang portal of Thailand. Always has been. Always will be. Accept it.

This forum is populated by holiday makers,skint pensioners and dreamers.....The majority of posters on here will never lose that kind of money because they will never have that amount of money in the first place. This Irish guy operates on a totally different level to the 300 baht a day Thai visa big spenders

I think you mean before he lost al his money. His daughter claims they are broke and have no where to live so 300 s day might come in handy for him

[CiaranO]

The problem is this travesty of justice has gone on for more than 5 years and Mr. Vard has spent millions of baht on lawyers in Phuket that he thought he could trust, but who were in league with the money lenders and mafia in Phuket.

He is broke and now under a witness protection program of the Thai Government.

Combined, several of these lawyers made close to 10 million baht in legal fees but did not discharge their duties properly. These lawyers made huge amounts of fees and also decided because he didn't read Thai they could take over all his assets in coordination with his wife, without him knowing about it, till it could not be undone and they had 50+ million baht.

Having a Junta in power, and with these people being particularly concerned about being seen to be doing the right thing with foreign investors and the foreign media, the Royal Thai Police have decided it is time to spill some blood and set things back the way they should be.

All I can say is there are a number (30) of very worried Phuket police, lawyers, land office officials and money lenders now back in Phuket that have spent 2 + days sitting in front of Justice Department officials, Police Commissioners, AMLO and other various agencies at police headquarters in Bangkok explaining and having their butts kicked so hard many of them know they are going to be fired. It also looks like a major bank with be sued for money laundering the proceeds of crime!

At the moment Justice Department officials are collecting all the documentation on the about 10 legal cases and reviewing them as a whole, before undoing things and firing the people involved.

I spoke to Colin last night and he said he amazed how cooperative and helpful the Police Commissioner and the Royal Thai Police have been since they became aware of it. Of course having some major foreign media involved has helped!

It will be interesting to see how things will turn out!

Let's make this a quick ending. He's getting nothing back. No money will be returned no houses given back nothing. He's put his family in danger each and every week and in my opinion he is stealing his children's youth by using them in this way rather than being a man abc doing it himself. His daughter is all over Facebook with clearly scripted speeches from him. Grow a pair Vard and make your own videos.

[Nick167]

There were some comments about his children, these are luk kreung kids. No need to worry about them.....they will be ok. Have you seen luk kreung kids in thailand.....they think that they are god's gift to thailand. But thais are changing these days and regard them with a diffrent perspective. I have seen a lot of these kids and their behaviour (and the lack of morals!). Its ok, they will be ok and end up somewhere.

[Thailand]

I remember this and see that his daughter has a facebook campaign going to illustrate this and other similar cases ongoing in Phuket. Lawyers, money lenders, land officials, police, being followed and threatened, it all stinks of serious fraud and corruption.

There is a woman,a "lawyer" who is on the list of Thai lawyers provided by the American embassy, and loan sharks involved in similar things in Chiang Mai. Recently a friend very nearly lost THB 30 million in house and property. Only expensive lawyers were able to sort in her favour.

At the same time my friend was fighting her case in Bangkok court the same motley crew were involved in 8 court cases in Chiang Mai.

[CiaranO]

There were some comments about his children, these are luk kreung kids. No need to worry about them.....they will be ok. Have you seen luk kreung kids in thailand.....they think that they are god's gift to thailand. But thais are changing these days and regard them with a diffrent perspective. I have seen a lot of these kids and their behaviour (and the lack of morals!). Its ok, they will be ok and end up somewhere.

Jessie is not Thai. She is Irish. She was born in Ireland to an Irish lady and holds an Irish passport.

[nontabury]

There were some comments about his children, these are luk kreung kids. No need to worry about them.....they will be ok. Have you seen luk kreung kids in thailand.....they think that they are god's gift to thailand. But thais are changing these days and regard them with a diffrent perspective. I have seen a lot of these kids and their behaviour (and the lack of morals!). Its ok, they will be ok and end up somewhere.

Jessie is not Thai. She is Irish. She was born in Ireland to an Irish lady and holds an Irish passport.

So what!

[CiaranO]

There were some comments about his children, these are luk kreung kids. No need to worry about them.....they will be ok. Have you seen luk kreung kids in thailand.....they think that they are god's gift to thailand. But thais are changing these days and regard them with a diffrent perspective. I have seen a lot of these kids and their behaviour (and the lack of morals!). Its ok, they will be ok and end up somewhere.

Jessie is not Thai. She is Irish. She was born in Ireland to an Irish lady and holds an Irish passport.

So what!

I'm replying in relation to mis-informed quote or can you not understand or read ?

[CiaranO]

As we farangs all no you cannot own land in Thailand. The wife has to pay for the land with her own money and not supplied by farang. I wonder if she has tax statements showing how she earned enough money to buy 65 million bahts of land. if not some one was corrupt and allowed her to do it. This B. S. has to stop or Thailand will not succeed in there earning projections. this kind of news chases many investing people away. Gambling wife screws hole family so like many Thai

women! A farang man can own the house but not the land.

For christs sake how many more times is it going to have to be said YOU CAN OWN YOUR OWN LAND - stop acting like wannabee lawyers and actually go and see one who will tell you exactly how to do just that - I have a mate AND in Phuket who owns several high end houses, never had an issue in 15 years and continues to make very good money with the protection of a very good ENGLISH lawyer.

Please explain how a foreigner can own his own land not leased in Thailand and is 100 % legal and a 100% in the foreigners name ?

[wowfactor10]

Owning land in your name is still impossible anyone tell u another story is lying.

Life long usage till u die its possible only...

land office need better protect foreign citizens against scammers..set new rules mandatory for each transaction all parties show up in person...That would end a lot of scams already

[NamKangMan]

As we farangs all no you cannot own land in Thailand. The wife has to pay for the land with her own money and not supplied by farang. I wonder if she has tax statements showing how she earned enough money to buy 65 million bahts of land. if not some one was corrupt and allowed her to do it. This B. S. has to stop or Thailand will not succeed in there earning projections. this kind of news chases many investing people away. Gambling wife screws hole family so like many Thai

women! A farang man can own the house but not the land.

For christs sake how many more times is it going to have to be said YOU CAN OWN YOUR OWN LAND - stop acting like wannabee lawyers and actually go and see one who will tell you exactly how to do just that - I have a mate AND in Phuket who owns several high end houses, never had an issue in 15 years and continues to make very good money with the protection of a very good ENGLISH lawyer.

Rubbish.

Edited June 6, 2015 by NamKangMan

[Naam]

Tell me is there any shortage of trolls on here, a guy and his family have had everything stolen on them, they are fellow expats and from what i read, just drivel comes out of some people statements, quick and short troll comments, have you guys no intelligence or emphaty, what if it happened to you or your best mate or your family??

2 children locked in a water well and only for a neighbour found them they could have died!

Properties stolen with the full knowledge fo the family lawyer.

Trolls should be banned and their IP blocked in such circumstances. The whole meaning of an expat community is the word Community, a place of support and protection

You're coming to the wrong place if you're looking for empathy. The is the angry jaded farang portal of Thailand. Always has been. Always will be. Accept it.

This forum is populated by holiday makers,skint pensioners and dreamers.....The majority of posters on here will never lose that kind of money because they will never have that amount of money in the first place. This Irish guy operates on a totally different level to the 300 baht a day Thai visa big spenders

[jpinx]

Tell me is there any shortage of trolls on here, a guy and his family have had everything stolen on them, they are fellow expats and from what i read, just drivel comes out of some people statements, quick and short troll comments, have you guys no intelligence or emphaty, what if it happened to you or your best mate or your family??

2 children locked in a water well and only for a neighbour found them they could have died!

Properties stolen with the full knowledge fo the family lawyer.

Trolls should be banned and their IP blocked in such circumstances. The whole meaning of an expat community is the word Community, a place of support and protection

You're coming to the wrong place if you're looking for empathy. The is the angry jaded farang portal of Thailand. Always has been. Always will be. Accept it.

This forum is populated by holiday makers,skint pensioners and dreamers.....The majority of posters on here will never lose that kind of money because they will never have that amount of money in the first place. This Irish guy operates on a totally different level to the 300 baht a day Thai visa big spenders

Which are you Naam ? I fall into the "pensioner" category, but not skint

For those eejits and baiters boning on about land ownership -- the topic is totally done to death. If a farang wants to own land he only needs a good lawyer with experience of the process.

Back to the Irish guy -- what's the news on processing his complaint now? Anyone been locked up yet ?

[lostinisaan]

You better ask the lawyer here on this forum.....

[lostinisaan]

They do their job pretty well.All news are not available and blocked by this country.

[pigeonjake]

I’m not jealous of this guy and the money he had, I’ve got my own life here in Thailand and very happy with it, and I’m no troll

But I was wondering how many of these corrupt hands he greased in getting what he had, as in saw a nice plot of land and got the lawyers to help him be the one to by it,

I was always told if you run with the wolfs one day you will get bitten, this isn’t meaning I agree with what happened

[steven100]

13 pages on some farang gets ripped of by thai authorities ....