One-man fraud machine costs victims B76m

Ex-army sergeant faces variety of complaints more than luxury car product sales,

Police arrest Jetsada Srimahasanti on July 30 in front of a condominium in Bangkok's Suan Luang district. (Police photo)
Police arrest Jetsada Srimahasanti on Come july 1st 30 in front of the condominium in Bangkok’s Suan Luang area. (Police photo)

Renting away luxury cars could be a risky business.

Three car dealerships are facing 76 million baht in financial damages due to a single customer’s deceptive scheme.

According to Jirabhop Bhuridej, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), the companies fell target to Jetsada Srimahasanti, who disappeared along with 12 luxury vehicles, including a Porche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Depending on their complaints lodged with the Crime Suppression Division in 06, Mr Jetsada, twenty six, a former army sergeant, came to them plus asked to rent cars for their supervisor.

After some time, he came up with excuses about exactly why the cars could not become returned and eventually proceeded to go dark, the complaints said.

One company was able to track down its car at the car park of a second-hand dealership where they learned it absolutely was pawned by Mr Jetsada.

The suspect apparently used cash from pawning cars to help keep the scam heading.

After initiating a probe, the CSD found Mr Jetsada confronts a number of fraud issues lodged with a number of police stations. The particular investigation is still continuous.

Nevertheless , there is also a warrant, sought by the Economic Criminal offense Suppression Division (ECD) and approved by the military court in June, for his arrest for allegedly deceiving people in to buying a non-existent debenture.

A group of 21 people submitted a complaint with all the ECD on Might 10.

The ECD and the CSD joined fingers in the investigation plus located him in the Phatthanakarn area. Finally, an arrest had been made on Come july 1st 30 in front of a condominium in Suan Luang district.

Two police warrants, approved by the Phra Khanong Criminal Courtroom and Chiang Mai District Court, were also issued intended for his arrest over alleged fraud.

“But provided the number of complaints submitted against the suspect, monetary damages are likely to exceed 100 million baht, ” Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop said.

The CIB commissioner stated Mr Jetsada is really a repeat offender.

He mentioned suspects in such strategies tend to use money swindled from brand new victims to compensate older victims to settle disputes.

“When the victims receive money, they withdraw their complaints and the investigation is dropped, ” he said.

“This kind of case involves damages to an individual so a victim can drop the problem.

“The swindlers then keep on with their scams, inch he said.

However , open public fraud cases can not be withdrawn. In this case, suspects tend to secure bail for their temporary discharge before fleeing and continuing to fraud while on the run.

Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop said there are four key approaches to combating this type of crime.

People must be made aware of this and be careful when they are approached along with investment schemes along with returns that audio too good to be true, he said.

Next is that law enforcement agencies must act quickly when complaints are usually filed, he mentioned. The quicker swindlers are arrested plus prosecuted, the fewer the victims.

Collaboration along with stakeholders can also assist in preventing crime, he mentioned, adding in this case, law enforcement can share details with car rental and second-hand car sellers to alert all of them about a scam.

The last element is to increase recognition and investigation abilities, and while this approach requires time, it is necessary, he said.

The CIB has invested resources within improving its officers’ skills via the CSD’s detective school, he or she said.

The bureau is about to launch an internet course under the CIB detective school because of its personnel, said the CIB chief.

“Fraudulent schemes are really a challenge for many countries in part due to technologies. While earning things easy and practical, they can be abused simply by criminals.

“In many cases, they aren’t even in the country where their particular scam is hatched, ” he said.

Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop said the best tool to prevent today’s criminal offenses is to involve all of the stakeholders to get all of them prepared.

It is also necessary to step up cooperation with law enforcement agencies in other countries to keep up with criminals’ techniques. New investigation techniques are also necessary, he or she added.