A group of people filed complaints with the Economic Crime Suppression Division on Monday after allegedly being duped into investing in a lottery trading scheme that resulted in losses estimated at 50 million baht.
The victims said the scammers claimed to have close ties to senior executives at the Government Lottery Office (GLO) and influential politicians, allowing them to obtain "special lottery quotas" at below-market prices.
They also posted photographs on social media showing large stacks of lottery tickets and promised investors high returns from buying and selling government lottery tickets.
Chompoo, a 38-year-old online vendor, said she invested one million baht after being introduced to the scheme by a friend who had received regular returns for more than a year.
She signed a one-year investment agreement at the suspects' office in Bangkok's Silom area and was promised dividends of 20,000 baht from each lottery draw.
Ms Chompoo said she received the promised payments during the first few months of the investment. However, after about six months, the group began delaying payments, telling her to wait for a larger lump-sum payout when the contract expired.
Ms Chompoo said she received the promised payments during the early months of the investment, but after about six months, the group delayed payments and told her to wait for a larger lump-sum payout when the contract expired.
When the contract ended in June, no payment was made, and she could not contact the group.
