Thai court sentences couple to 12,640 years’ jail each for duping thousands in Ponzi scheme

A Thai court on Wednesday sentenced a couple to 12,640 years’ jail each after finding them guilty of scamming millions of dollars from more than 2,000 people in a Ponzi scheme.

However, Thailand’s Criminal Court commuted their terms to 5,056 years because Wantanee Tippaveth and her husband, Methi Chinpha, confessed to their crimes, which took place in 2019.

The duo are expected to be in prison for just two decades, though, reported The Bangkok Post, due to the kingdom’s law which limits their total jail time to 20 years each.

During the trial, the court heard that the couple, together with seven other people, invited people through Facebook between March and October 2019, to invest in a savings scheme which allegedly offered 93 per cent returns.

To convince people, Wantanee regularly posted online videos of her flaunting gold jewellery in a jewellery shop she purportedly owned – which turned out to be fake. It was little more than a counter set up at the side of an office-style room.

Police said such posts, together with social media photos portraying her allegedly lavish lifestyle, helped lure in victims.

A total of 2,533 people joined the scheme, investing some 1.3 billion baht (S$51.3 million).

But prosecutors said the nine accused did not invest the money entrusted to them. Instead, the funds were split among themselves. Police said some victims had invested their entire life savings and homes. Some had reportedly attempted suicide after losing their fortunes.

Prosecutors had charged all nine with multiple counts of fraud, but only Wantanee and Methi were found guilty. The others were acquitted due to lack of evidence.