NAKHON RATCHASIMA: A 33-year-old woman has been been arrested for alleged fraud, accused of luring people to invest more than 3 million baht in a "len share" pyramid scheme which soon ran out of money.
Pooncharas Thongpaiboon, 33, was detained on an arrest warrant issued in late May by Mae Sariang Provincial Court, Pol Col Worachart Saenkham, commander of Provincial Police Region 3, said on Monday.
Ms Pooncharas, a registered resident of Chiang Mai’s San Kamphaeng district, early this year opened a Facebook account using her real name and inviting people to invest in a scheme promising 10% interest for every 1,000-baht invested in just four days.
At least 30 people were attracted to the offer, paying more than 3 million baht into Ms Pooncharas’ account. Later, she disappeared.
The suckered investors filed complaints at a police station in the North. The Mae Sariang court issued an arrest warrant on May 29.
Police tracked Ms Pooncharas to a house in tambon Baan Koh of Muang district in Nakhon Ratchasima. She was arrested on Monday morning.
Ms Pooncharas allegedly confessed that she had earlier invested in a pyramid scheme, and decided to operate a similar scheme herself. She was able to give promised returns in the beginning, but later there was not enough cash coming in to pay her members.
She closed her Facebook account and hid out at a house in Nakhon Ratchasima, where she was arrested. She will be sent to Tha Ta Fang police station in Mae Hong Son for further legal procedings, Pol Col Worachart said.
