Thai couple arrested in 39 million baht fraud involving famous lawyer and millionaire

Police arrested a Thai couple in connection with the 39 million baht fraud involving a famous lawyer, who allegedly swindled 71 million baht from a Thai millionaire.

The renowned Thai lawyer Sittha Biabangkerd and his wife, Patidta Biabangkerd, were arrested on November 7 on charges of fraud and money laundering. Their arrests followed accusations from female millionaire Jatuporn “Madam Oi” Udonlert, who claimed that Sittha swindled 71 million baht from her.

Jatuporn alleged that Sittha tricked her into investing in a business with him, though the business saw no development. However, Sittha maintained his innocence, insisting the money was given to him as a gratuitous gift.

In addition to the alleged investment scam, Jatuporn also exposed another fraud worth 39 million baht. This accusation involved a 34 year old man with close ties to Sittha, named Nuwat Yongyut, and his 32 year old wife, Sarinee Nutchanart.

In this instance, Jatuporn intended to hire the 48 year old Chinese actor and singer Chen Kun to perform in Thailand. However, the payment for his performance had to be made via cryptocurrency, which Jatuporn was unfamiliar with, so she sought Sittha’s assistance.

Sittha delegated the matter to Nuwat, who reportedly managed to contact Chen Kun and informed Jatuporn that he already paid 39 million baht in cryptocurrency for the performance. Unfortunately, Chen Kun did not come to perform in Thailand as promised, and Nuwat claimed he was scammed.

Nuwat told Jatuporn that the social media account he contacted was a counterfeit and he lost the money to the scammer, which led to a dispute between him and his wife.

Feeling partly responsible, Jatuporn covered the loss by transferring 39 million baht to Nuwat. She later began to suspect that Nuwat had never contacted Chen Kun and fabricated the information and booking documents to deceive her, so he took legal action against him and his wife.

Officers from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) launched an investigation into the matter, finding suspicious evidence suggesting that Nuwat might indeed have scammed Jatuporn, as she alleged.

Nuwat was reportedly found to have produced a counterfeit document about the loss in her cryptocurrency account to substantiate his claim to Jatuporn.

Further details regarding the questioning of the two suspects have not yet been disclosed. Thai media reported that police denied their bail request, fearing they may attempt to evade legal proceedings.