Court acquits celebrity duo of fraud

Still facing the possibility of an appeal in the Ponzi situation.

According to Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong, Pattanapon” DJ Man” Minthakhin and his song family Suteewan” Baitoey” Kunchorn, who were among the four people who were found not guilty in a high-profile Ponzi scheme test, will receive payment for their confinement if they can prove their innocence in court, according to Justice Minister.

Under the rules on payment and expenses for the accused in legal cases, those unfairly detained are entitled to 500 ringgit in compensation per day for their confinement, medical expenses of up to 40, 000 ringgit, payment for loss of earnings, and legal fees of up to 30, 000 baht.

Mr Pattanapon was imprisoned for 570 days, while his wife, Ms Suteewan, was in jail for 191 days.

Pol Col Taweee said this was the court’s decision in the first instance. The prosecutors have 30 days to appeal, he said.

Three men who participated in the Forex-3D Ponzi scheme were given total prison sentences of 49, 125 years each, while the Criminal Court acquired four others, including the celebrity couple, on Thursday.

With their daughter, celebrity couple Pattanapon ‘ DJ Man’s wife Suteewan’ Baitoey ‘ Kunchorn and his singer wife Suteewan’ Baitoey ‘ Kunchorn celebrate Christmas. They are among four acquitted by the Criminal Court in the multi-billion-baht Forex-3D Ponzi scheme. ( Photo: Baitoey R Siam Facebook )

The case involved seven defendants: Singaporean Daryl Cai Yonghui, Mr Pattanapon, Ms Suteewan, Chatchai” Sue” Khotchathin, Theeraphassakorn” Mark” Kimwangtako, Suranart Nakmusik, and Ayuwat Chaimethanarakul.

They face charges of colluding with the government to obtain loans to defraud, public fraud, and entering false information into a computer system connected to the Forex-3D scheme.

Prosecutors said that between Nov 25, 2015, and Sept 8, 2020, the defendants invited people through Facebook to invest in the Forex-3D foreign exchange group, with 9, 824 people investing a total of 2.49 billion baht.

The court determined that Mr. Cai had persuaded some investors to invest, but that this was not a form of advertising.

The court argued that it was not clear whether he had a relationship with Apirak Kothi, the alleged Ponzi scheme mastermind.

It argued that Mr. Cai had the benefit of the doubt because it had no proof that he had been a key member of the group.

The court ruled that a photo of Mr. Apirak and Ms. Suteewan in a meeting room was a personal matter and did not indicate that they were engaged in business with him.

The court found Mr Chatchai, Mr Theeraphassakorn and Mr Suranart guilty and sentenced them to 49, 125 years for 9, 825 offences.

However, the law limits their total prison time to 20 years each. Mr Ayuwat, the seventh defendant, was acquitted.