PUBLISHED: 15 Dec 2024 at 15:47
A 40-year-old woman has been arrested in Chaiyaphum province for allegedly facilitating a scam operation that deceived Thai-British beauty queen Charlotte Austin out of 4 million baht.
According to law enforcement officials, the suspect, identified only as Parichat, was apprehended during a raid at her home on Saturday.
Investigations revealed that Parichat and her husband had recently crossed into Cambodia from Sa Kaeo province prior to the scam targeting Ms. Austin.
While in Cambodia, Parichat was reportedly brought to a facility operated by a Chinese-run scam syndicate, where she was paid 3,500 baht to establish a bank account for their operations. This process included a facial recognition scan.
Parichat informed authorities that there were approximately 20 other Thai individuals in the building, which was set up to mimic official Thai government offices, all part of the scam.
Authorities stated that the funds transferred by Ms. Austin were deposited into Parichat’s account, converted into digital currency, and subsequently routed to an account controlled by a Chinese individual. The investigation is ongoing.
In a press conference, Ms. Austin recounted receiving a call on December 7 from someone claiming to be a representative of the Department of Special Investigation.
The caller accused her of laundering money related to the controversial Stark Corporation and demanded a transfer of 4 million baht to verify her innocence.
The 25-year-old, who was the 5th runner-up in Miss Grand Thailand 2022, complied and made multiple transactions totaling 4 million baht, but did not receive her funds back as promised.
