A 40-year-old woman was apprehended in Chaiyaphum province for allegedly setting up a mule bank account for a Cambodia-based scam gang that swindled Thai-British beauty queen Charlotte Austin out of 4 million baht.
Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phewphan, the acting commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, confirmed the arrest of the suspect, identified as Parichat, on Saturday. Authorities found her at a residence in Chaiyaphum’s northeastern region.
According to the investigation, Parichat and her husband were illegally trafficked into Cambodia from Sa Kaeo province shortly before Austin fell victim to the scam. Upon arrival, the couple was brought to a building where a Chinese-led scam network operated. Parichat was reportedly paid 3,500 baht to open a bank account for the gang. During the process, her face was scanned for identification purposes.
Parichat later revealed that around 20 Thai nationals were in the same building, which contained fake offices that pretended to be government institutions but were actually fronts for fraudulent activities.
According to Pol Lt Gen Trairong, the stolen 4 million baht from Austin was deposited into Parichat’s bank account, converted into digital currency, and then transferred to an account linked to a Chinese suspect. The investigation is ongoing.
Charlotte Austin, a 25-year-old beauty queen who was the fifth runner-up at Miss Grand Thailand 2022, explained in a press conference that she was tricked on December 7 by a man posing as a Department of Special Investigation official. The scammer falsely claimed that she was implicated in money laundering related to Stark Corporation. He instructed her to transfer 4 million baht, allegedly for verification of her innocence. Austin complied, making three transfers, but never received her money back as promised.
