‘Nutty’ probed over S’pore scam link

SHE gained popularity as a singer, dancer, business owner and “successful” forex trader. But Natthamon Khongchak (pic) is now making headlines as an alleged multimillion-dollar scammer, and a fugitive.

The Thai social media celebrity, better known online as Nutty, has gone missing after she is said to have fleeced thousands of her followers of two billion baht (RM244mil) in foreign exchange investments they made with her.

The 29-year-old has more than 800,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel. In the past year, she began advertising herself as a forex trading guru who in one instance purportedly made 300,000 baht (RM36,000) in 10 minutes.

Lured by promised returns of up to 35% or more and monthly payouts if they invested with her, over 6,000 people have allegedly been duped, said lawyer Phaisal Ruangrit who is representing some of them.

“(She) often posted photos on social media showing her wealth with luxury cars, watches and property while claiming she had gained them from forex trading via a broker called ‘IQ option’,” Lieutenant-Colonel Watthana Ketumpai, the police’s Cyber Crime Investigation Division 5 chief, told Thai media.Authorities have received more than 100 complaints. Arrest warrants have been issued for Natthamon and her secretary.

A growing bounty of five million baht (RM600,000) – pooled by victims – is also on Natthamon’s head.

According to The Nation, Col Watthana said officers are investigating a possible connection to the Singapore case where Singaporean Pi Jiapeng, 26, and his wife, 27-year-old Thai national Siriwipa Pansuk, allegedly swindled customers of S$32mil (RM102mil) after failing to deliver on luxury goods.

The Straits Times could not verify this with the cyber crime bureau, but the Royal Thai Police said no link has been found yet.

Natthamon, who also uses the first name aliases Leah and Suchata, made a name for herself posting videos of her singing. At the height of her fame, she debuted in South Korea and launched two singles in 2015.

That same year, Natthamon, who was born in Chiang Mai, started her own skincare brand but has since sold the factory, according to media reports.

Local reports said she was born into a wealthy family who ran nightlife businesses. But their fortunes took a turn and the family filed for bankruptcy.

After living with her mother in Malaysia for a period, they returned to Thailand where Natthamon generated social media buzz on Socialcam platform.

She was also often praised for being a daughter who shared a close relationship with her mother who appeared on her YouTube channel.It was this wholesome image that led many fans to part with hefty sums when Natthamon invited them to invest with her.

“If you’re interested in trading, you can consult (with me). You won’t be disappointed,” she posted on her Instagram about a year ago.

Several alleged victims have shared their plight on talk shows and news channels.

“Everyone knew she had a good reputation, took good care of her mother and employees,” said one person who invested over eight million baht and known only as Eve.

It was a similar story for another woman, known as Nok, who said: “She spoke well, showed gratitude and even bought a 40 million baht (RM4.8mil) house for her mother.”

“I saw her posting about trading. If she were someone I did not know, I would not have been brave enough to invest with her,” said Nok, a fan of Natthamon for 10 years.

Nok invested 37 million baht (RM4.5mil) – including money from friends – after receiving a 40% return on an initial one million baht investment she made in November.

The payments came in until March this year when Natthamon said the money could not be withdrawn from the broker platform.

“At first, I was able to contact her. I asked her why didn’t I get any money from the investment. She said the money was stuck with the broker and there was about 600 million baht (RM73mil),” said Nok.

As investors started getting anxious and some began filing police reports in May, Natthamon took to social media to reassure them.

“It is all my fault. I apologise for getting you in trouble and disappointing the ones who believe in me,” she said on Instagram on May 25. She added that her broker had blocked her fund withdrawals and trading account in March.

She promised to compensate the victims.

“We are going to get through this together. I will not run away and I promise that everyone will be compensated,” she said in the video.

She has gone silent ever since. — The Straits Times/ANN