The police arrested a Swede on Koh Chang on Tuesday (June 18) in connection with a million-dollar Bitcoin scam. According to reports, the Swede and his Thai wife have been living on the island for eight years.
The investigators arrested 45-year-old Roger Nils Jonas Karlsson at his registered address on Chang Island. In a raid on his home, the investigators confiscated a number of electronic devices. The officials assume that Roger Nils has used the confiscated electronic devices for his fraudulent activities.
The Thai police responded with the arrest of the Swede on the basis of information from the US authorities about Interpol. According to further information, Karlsson is said to have cheated more than 3,500 victims by more than 11 million US dollars.
The manager said that Karlsson had told the officials that he had set up a legitimate crypto-currency investment site (Bitcoin). However, when his company suffered huge losses, he was forced to close the site.
However, the US Department of Justice published several documents proving that Karlsson made false statements and representations on his website. The website and system of its website were designed to deceive and trick potential investors.
One of its websites, www.easternmetalsecurities.com, was allegedly registered as a fictitious person, promoting shares in a product called the "Pre Funded Reversed Pension Plan" (PFRPP).
Karlsson is said to have used the website to invite potential investors to buy shares in the plan for $ 98 per share in exchange for a possible payout of 1.15 kg of gold per share, despite 1.15 kg of gold from the second. January 2019 were already worth more than $ 45,000.
Karlsson also reportedly told investors that, in the unlikely event that the gold payment did not materialize, he had guaranteed them 97% of the amount invested. However, according to the complaint, the government has found no evidence of Karlsson's accounts that would allow him to repay the deposits of the deceived investors.
Instead, the complaint goes on, the monies made available by the bona fide victims were transferred to Karlsson's personal bank accounts and now appear to be tied up in real estate in Thailand.
Karlsson also instructed his victims to invest in virtual currencies like Bitcoin. He is said to have cheated on no less than 3,575 victims for more than $ 11 million.
Karlsson is now being returned to the US, where he faces up to 40 years in prison and fines of more than $ 750,000.
Sources: The Nation, Thailand Tip, marketwatch.com
