Thai Women Scammed For 3 Million Baht By German 'Lover'

BANGKOK — A German man has swindled over 3 million baht from Thai women who he fooled into marrying him and ordering non-existent iPhones from Germany, police say.

Bogdan Rejic was arrested earlier this week by Bangkok Metropolitan Police and charged with various counts of fraud.

Pol.Maj.Gen. Nopparat Sinma said yesterday that many Thai women complained to the police that Mr. Bogdaan flirted with them on a dating mobile phone app and claimed to be a German expat working for the state-owned petroleum company PTT. 

The women began dating Mr. Rejik and some of them even married him, Pol.Maj.Gen. Nopparat said. According to Pol.Maj.Gen. Nopparat, Mr. Rejik later convinced them they could order shipments of iPhones at a low price from Germany to be sold for a profit in Thailand.

"Many people fell for it and transferred money to a bank account provided by Mr. Bogdaan, which is registered under the name of someone called Gez," Pol.Maj.Gen. Nopparat said. "But when it was time for the phone delivery, he would avoid [the women]. So the victims decided to file complaints."

Pol.Maj.Gen. Nopparat estimated that Mr. Rejik has collected over 3 million baht through this scheme. He did not say how many women filed complaints.

The police investigation revealed that Mr. Rejik arrived in Thailand in 2000 and has overstayed his visa ever since. Pol.Maj.Gen. Nopparat said the court issued an arrest warrant on the suspect in March and eventually arrested him in Bangkok's Prawet district this week. 

Mr. Rejik has appeared in a number of movies as an extra actor, our correspondent said. His latest appearance was in the horror film "Hong Hoon" which premiered in cinema on 19 June.