Damrongsak Pitisuk, 38, and Pornthicha Pitisuk, 37, both wanted on an arrest warrant issued on June 23 this year, surrendered at Chalong Police Station yesterday (August 23).
Both suspects were presented to the press this morning (August 24) Col Angkul Klaiklueng, Chief of the Royal Thai Police Consumer Protection Division, which operates out of Bangkok.
“Both suspects received Achievement Awards for being excellent employees of Ufun at the Black Night party by URICH in December 2014,” Col Angkul said.
Police have determined that Damrongsak and Pornthicha had nearly B40 million in investor funds funnelled through their bank accounts: B19mn in Damrongsak’s bank account, and B18.59mn in Pornthicha’s bank account.
The couple are believed to have defrauded more than 100 people of their investments.
Damrongsak and Pornthicha have been charged with defrauding investors and working together as part of a transnational criminal organisation.
An investigator with the Consumer Protection Board, who asked not to be named said, “The investigation into others is still ongoing. Both Damrongsak and Pornthicha will be sent to the Consumer Protection Board head office in Bangkok for further questioning.”
“We are still investigating 100 more cases of people being defrauded through Ufun,” he said.
Col Angkul was in Phuket on July 7, when he seized luxury cars valued at B10 million at a Phuket used car lot and arrested the owner for suspected involvement in the notorious Ufun scheme. (See story here.)
To date, investigators believe Ufun may have cheated up to 120,000 members in Thailand out of an estimated B38 billion. (See story here.)
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is currently tracing 35 financial transactions from Ufun networks to 10 countries between January 2014 and April 28, 2015, said Pol Lt Col Pakorn Sucheevakun, director of the DSI’s Technology and Information Inspection Centre.
Assistant police chief Suwira Songmetta in June said that the Ufun scam had been plotted in Malaysia and spread to Australia, Britain, China, France, Germany, Guinea, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. (See story here.)