Pattanapon “DJ Man” Minthakhin and singer-wife Suteewan “Baitoey” Thaweesin on Wednesday reported to the Department of Special Investigation to acknowledge three charges in connection with the Forex-3D online Ponzi fraud, and were later released.
The celebrity couple met DSI investigators at 2pm, a day early. They had been summonsed to report on Thursday.
The investigators informed them of three charges –colluding in obtaining loans to defraud, public fraud and putting false information into a computer system in violation of laws on obtaining loans amounting to public fraud, under the Criminal Code and the Computer Crime Act.
The couple denied all charges and said they would provide facts to counter the charges and present documents to DSI investigators on Sept 30. After questioning, they were allowed to go home.
The DSI had summonsed the couple and two leading players in the Forex-3D scam to hear charges on Thursday.
The two others, who were family members, had sent a letter notifying the DSI that they could not report to investigators on Thursday as scheduled. They asked for a postponement until Friday, according to the DSI.
Mr Pattanapon, alias DJ Man, formerly known as Pattanapon Kunjara Na Ayudhya, and his singer wife streamed live on Facebook on Aug 20, saying they had never enticed anyone to invest in Forex-3D, and they were not listed as business partners in Forex-3D Co.
In 2019, the DSI summonsed the couple to clarify their connection with the owner of Forex-3D, Apiruk Kothi, who is accused of a multi-billion-baht fraud. Forex-3D claimed to be an online dealer in foreign exchange, with a flashy website, but was unlisted and operated as a Ponzi scheme.
Last month, actress Savika, “Pinky” Chaiyadet, 36, her mother and her brother were arrainged in court and denied bail on charges of operating the Forex Ponzi , which cheated thousands of people out of about 2 billion baht.
On Wednesday, Thanakrit Jit-areerat, secretary to the justice minister, said no victims of the Forex-3D Ponzi scheme had filed complaints against a popular TV actor with the DSI.
The DSI had opened a channel where the almost 13,000 victims of the scheme could file complaints. About 9,000 complainants have so far registered with the DSI. Checks found that nobody had implicated the actor in the scheme, Mr Thanakrit told Thai media. He did not mention the name of the actor.
He urged damaged parties to file complaints with the DSI. The statute of limitations in the case had not expired, he said.
A Facebook page compiling the names of people who fell victim to Forex-3D fraud recently alleged that a male actor from Rama IV Road was a leading player in Forex-3D and had encouraged people to invest in it.