BANGKOK — The iCon Group, a large business enterprise involving celebrities, influencers, and stars acting as “bosses” to promote online product sales, has gradually faced complaints from a group of victims, leading to its expansion into a major case in Thailand.
These complaints were aired through a hot-topic news discussion program “Ride the Wave” (Hoen Krasae in Thai) hosted by Kanchai Kamnerdploy on Channel 3 television, eventually evolving into a national-level case with hundreds of complainants.
They accused the group of running a Ponzi scheme by tricking them into buying large quantities of their beauty and consumer products to sell to others, only to find out there’s little demand. Many people said that the success of this business was not primarily based on selling products, but on persuading others to join the investment network.
The story that shocked society was that these people were encouraged to invest more and more until they were penniless. Some attempted suicide, and some died, with similar motivations stemming from their admiration for celebrities and trust in the wealthy image of stars or influencers.
Especially notable is “Boss Paul” Waratthapon Waratthawarakul, owner of the catchphrase “10 years of misplaced diligence won’t make you rich,” founder and CEO of The iCon Group, an online business empire using the “buy-sell” model to generate enormous income.
He used his life story of growing up with a single mother in Bangkok’s slums, working hard to earn money, and paying for his own education. He started his business journey selling tiles online, learned, and eventually opened The iCon Group company in 2018, growing rapidly in 2021 with sales exceeding 5 billion baht, with credible famous stars joining to enhance the image.
This massive damage prompted the new Police Chief of the Royal Thai Police, Kittirat Phanphet, to order a full police investigation.
Similarly, the government, represented by Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office Jiraporn Sinthuprai, who oversees consumer protection agencies, called an urgent meeting of all relevant agencies at Government House on October 11.
Subsequently, officials from the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) led a raid on The Icon Group HQ in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district and at least 9 points of The iCon Group network companies.
Officials found several important pieces of evidence, especially the company’s product warehouses located in Moo 8, Khlong Si Subdistrict, Khlong Luang District, Pathum Thani Province. They found only 2 packing employees and very few products, contrary to the company’s assets of 700 million baht.
Meanwhile, the famous stars involved in this business, including Sam Yuranunt Pamornmontri, Boy Pakorn Chatborirak, Min Peechaya Wattanamontree, and Kan Kantathavorn, all came out to confirm that they were only presenters, not partners, and they were very sorry to learn that people had been seriously affected.
Then, each of them, except Boy Pakorn, gradually went to meet with police officers. Until Sunday, October 13, Pol. Maj. Gen. Sopon Saraphat, Deputy Commander of the Central Investigation Bureau, announced that so far, the executives of The iCon Group, Boss Paul, three famous stars (Sam, Min, and Kan), and other executives who had been accused, totaling 6 people, now have the status of “suspects.”
Police summarized the total number of victims throughout the previous week to be as high as 800, with total damages of over 266 million baht. If it reaches 300 million baht, this case will be elevated to a special investigation by the DSI police.
Minister Jiraporn said that officials are currently collecting evidence based on facts, and the OCPB has sent a letter to the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) to issue a letter to freeze assets first. AMLO will monitor the assets, and if there’s any transfer, it may also fall under money laundering.
The iCon Group business was exposed as a scandalous case following the case of a husband and wife selling gold online, known as “Mae Tak and Pa Beer” or Ms. Kornkanok Suwanabut and Mr. Kanphon Ruangaram, which was found to have more than 200 victims.
The similarity to The iCon Group case is that many stars and influencers participated in marketing activities to promote their gold business to make it look credible and persuade people to buy.
Moreover, “Mae Tak and Pa Beer” also created content distributed on social media boasting of wealth including branded assets, luxury watches, luxury cars, millions of cash in bundles, and a luxurious lifestyle.
Another similarity is the exposure of this fraudulent business through the “Ride the Wave” TV program, revealing that most of the gold from this shop did not meet standards and was far from the quality advertised, making it impossible to resell at a price close to what was paid. Also, the gold shop’s lottery was not legally correct.
Both were arrested and prosecuted for multiple legal offenses, including consumer-related offenses, public fraud, and also matters related to the Computer Act in bringing false information into the system.
During the prosecution, police seized their assets including several luxury cars, 16 land title deeds, real estate, 6 luxury watches, and various assets worth several million baht. However, the safe that appeared in the content to be full of luxury watches turned out to be empty.
An important issue of these similar large cases that those responsible must continue to investigate is whether there are police officers involved or benefiting from these dubious wealth-creating businesses.
________