Thai Police Bust Pyramid Scheme The iCon Group, Arrest 18 Including 3 Celebrities

Thai police have busted The iCon Group’s fraudulent operations, arresting 18 individuals, including three celebrities. Police seized luxury sports cars and millions of dollars linked to a pyramid scheme involving the sale of health and dietary supplements.

The arrests followed over 1,000 online fraud allegations against The iCon Group, which reportedly lured victims into buying products and making financial commitments by offering cheap online sales courses. Once enrolled, individuals were coerced into making further purchases and financial commitments ranging from 2,500 to 250,000 baht which was used to advertise for new recruits. Some of the victims, ranging from low-income workers to a high-earning footballer, reportedly paid over 600,000 baht to the company.

The company's founder and CEO, Warathaphon "Boss Paul" Waratyaworrakul, was detained along on Wednesday with a top TV host and an actress who allegedly helped persuade victims to join the scheme. Authorities have frozen 125 million baht (US$3.8 million) held in the bank accounts of the company's four executives and confiscated luxury vehicles, including Porsches and Ford Mustangs.

Police were looking into bank accounts and cash transfers linked to the suspects to identify any additional individuals involved, according to Thailand's police chief Kitrat Phanphet.