Former Thai Member of Korean Girl Group Arrested After 80 Billion Won Fraud and 2 Years on the Run
According to the South China Morning Post on October 31st (local time), Thai YouTuber Natthamon Khongchak was captured in Indonesia and extradited to Thailand after two years on the run following her fraudulent activities.
On October 25th, while she was staying in Indonesia posing as a local with her mother, Natthamon attempted to obtain a passport with false identification but was caught following a report by immigration officials. She was subsequently extradited to Thailand.
Natthamon was active in Korea under “Dream Cinema” but returned to her home country after failing to achieve significant success. She later gained popularity on YouTube, amassing over 800,000 followers by posting cover videos of popular K-pop groups like BLACKPINK and BTS. Using her fame as a basis, she launched an investment fraud scheme that reportedly affected around 6,000 victims, with damages estimated at around 2 billion baht (approximately 81.4 billion won).
Presenting herself as a “foreign exchange investment expert”, she promoted investment products guaranteeing high returns. For example, she claimed to offer returns of 25% for three months, 30% for six months, and 35% monthly for one year. However, when investors did not receive the promised returns, she dismissed it as a “simple transaction error” and even threatened that if they reported her, they would lose their money as she would end up in prison.
Eventually, she fled to Indonesia with her mother in 2022. While trying to apply for a passport for international travel, immigration officials became suspicious due to her unusual accent and asked her questions about the Indonesian constitution and national matters, which she was unable to answer, leading to her arrest.
Thai police have seized assets worth approximately $470,000 (around 648 million won) and are investigating additional asset flows. Under Thai law, if convicted of fraud, Natthamon Khongchak could face up to 20 years in prison.
Source: Daum
