Man loses B239 million to gang of sweet talkers

Five people were arrested for allegedly swindling a 79-year-old man out of over 230 million baht, by using tricks such as pretending to be high-ranking army officers, a senior official at the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) said.

Apichart Insawang, 59; Thassapol Thaspolsakul, 56; Pakorn Krungsri, 37; Patcharaporn Traichakpranee, 58; and

Pattaraporn Mankij, 24, were apprehended in three different locations in Bangkok. All five were charged with colluding in fraud and falsifying documents among other charges.

CSD investigator Pol Col Anek Taosupap said the arrests came after retired engineer Narueb Sarnsak filed a complaint saying he had been cheated out of 239 million baht by a gang led by Mr Apichart.

Mr Narueb said he was first introduced to Mr Apichart in 2012, and later the suspect asked him for a loan of 15 million baht, claiming his bank account had been frozen due to a lawsuit and that this sum was needed to have the account released. Mr Narueb agreed to lend the money and had Mr Apichart sign a contract, but the loan was never repaid and every cheque issued by the suspect bounced.

Then Mr Apichart came up with a new swindle. He told Mr Narueb that he knew a high-ranking official at the AntiMoney Laundering Office who could unfreeze his account, except the official faced a transfer and needed 34 million baht to retain his job. Mr Narueb fell for this and lent him the money.

Emboldened by his success, the suspect stepped up his scheme, this time by asking one of his gang members to pretend to be army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong to show that he was part of a powerful clique.

When the victim fell for this, the gang took another 190 million baht to buy a gift for a high-ranking person in the cabinet and via a land deal. The gang also offered profits from lottery sales worth 1 billion baht over four years. The victim finally filed a complaint in the middle of last year.