Police were looking into bank accounts and cash transfers linked to the suspects to find out if any more people were involved, Thailand’s police chief Kitrat Phanphet told reporters.
The company allegedly lured its victims by offering cheap online sales courses.
Once enrolled, it coerced them into making further purchases and financial commitments ranging from 2,500 baht to 250,000 baht which was used to advertise for new recruits.
Some of the victims – who ranged from low-income workers to a high-earning footballer – had paid more than 600,000 baht to the company, according to local media. Police are yet to tally the total amount swindled.
Thailand is no stranger to public fraud cases. A “Forex-3D” scheme last year tricked thousands into investing in a fake foreign exchange trading platform.
The world’s longest non-life sentence, according to the “Guinness Book of Records”, was imposed on Thai pyramid scheme fraudster Chamoy Thipyaso, who was jailed for 141,078 years in 1989.
However, she was released after only eight years behind bars despite having conned some members of the royal household.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thai-celebrities-among-18-arrested-pyramid-scheme-icon-group-4684571
