70-Year-Old Macau Man Joins Thousands of iCon Group Scandal Victims

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Mr. Ittidej Thanesawattana (right), a representative of foreign victims of The iCon Group, accompanies Mr. K (surname withheld), a 70-year-old victim from Macau, to file a complaint against the executives of The iCon Group for fraud, at the Central Investigation Bureau, on October 20, 2024.

BANGKOK — A representative of foreign victims brought a 70-year-old man from Macau to file a complaint with the Economic Crime Suppression Division police. He was deceived into investing in The iCon Group’s direct sales business, losing over 250,000 baht ($7,540).

On October 20, at the Central Investigation Bureau, Mr. Ittidej Thanesawattana, a representative of foreign victims, accompanied Mr. K (surname withheld), a 70-year-old victim from Macau, to file a complaint with the Economic Crime Suppression Division investigators against the executives of The iCon Group Company for investment fraud.

Previously, Ittidej submitted receipts for product orders from The iCon Group Company Limited, along with photos of stores selling its products abroad and pictures of victims to the Economic Crime Suppression Division to file a complaint against the executives of The iCon Group.

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Mr. Ittidej Thanesawattana, a representative of foreign victims of The Icon Group, reveals a photo of the “Boss” of The Icon Group while accompanying a male Macau victim to file a complaint against the executives of The Icon Group for fraud, at the Central Investigation Bureau, on October 20, 2024.

Mr. Ittidej stated that he represents Thai and foreign victims from over 10 countries/territories, including China, Hong Kong, Macau, Italy, Germany, Canada, Estonia, and Luxembourg.  There are more than 40 victims in total, with 20 from Asia and 20 from Europe. The estimated damages amount to over 20 million baht. 

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The latest complainant, a 70-year-old man from Macau, invested in opening two dealer bills totaling about 250,000 baht after being persuaded by a Thai victim living in Hong Kong who claimed this business was profitable.

He agreed to invest and had the opportunity to travel to Thailand for online sales training at the company’s headquarters in late 2023. There, he met Mr. Waratpol Warathwarakul, or Boss Paul, and a celebrity boss whom he was somewhat familiar with from television.

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A billboard of The iCon Group company featuring famous actors as presenters for various products including cosmetics, coffee, and supplements, once prominently displayed in the center of Pattaya city.

After investing in The iCon Group, the 70-year-old Macau man received incomplete products. For example, he got only 20 sachets of coffee instead of the usual 100. When he complained to the Asia region supervisor, he was told that products were out of stock. Upon seeing the news, he was shocked and coordinated with his Thai friend in Hong Kong to travel from Macau to file a complaint in Thailand today.

Mr. Ittidej added that while the victim was deciding to invest in The iCon Group business, people tried to persuade him to recruit more members. However, this particular victim focused on selling products because foreigners from Hong Kong, Macau, and other Asian countries wanted to try Thai products.

On Wednesday, October 23, Mr. Ittidej is preparing to coordinate and bring more victims from abroad, both Thai and foreigners, to gradually file additional complaints.

According to the Central Investigation Bureau, over 5,648 people filed police complaints between October 10-29 regarding The iCon Group. The total claimed damages resulting from the alleged fraud during this period amount to 1.6 billion baht ($48 million).

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