BANGKOK (AFP): Thai police have arrested a Japanese man who allegedly ran a scam that defrauded more than 200,000 Japanese retirees in Thailand with fake health insurance schemes, officers said Tuesday.
Yu Hamaji, 34, was arrested on Sunday under an arrest warrant as he attempted to leave Thailand, immigration police said.
Police raided two houses last month in Pattaya, a popular beach resort city southeast of Bangkok, and arrested five Japanese nationals.
They included the leader of the ring, who allegedly operated a call centre in Thailand targeting elderly Japanese residents.
Authorities believe Hamaji was one of the masterminds behind the operation, which swindled victims out of an estimated 300 million baht ($8.6 million).
Chaya Panakit, immigration police chief of investigation, said more than 200,000 people have been swindled by the scam.
"The maximum loss of one victim was around 100 million yen ($630,000)," he said.
The scam involved fraudsters impersonating Japanese government staff to sell bogus health insurance packages, according to the police statement.
Authorities are still searching for two suspects -- who remain at large -- with the help of the Japanese embassy in Bangkok. - AFP
