The case involves a beauty queen from the Miss Grand pageant. Charlotte Austin was defrauded by a call center gang into transferring over 4 million baht before she filed a complaint. Recently, she received good news after the civil court ruled it was joint negligence and ordered the bank to compensate 1 million baht. Charlotte was attending the “IMPACT SPEED FEST 2026” at IMPACT Challenger Hall 2–3, Muang Thong Thani, where she was asked about the case.
Many people are congratulating you. Have you received the money yet?
“Not yet. Actually, many people ask if I got the money because I’m a celebrity, but I want to say that regardless of your profession or who you are, if you suffer injustice, you can hire a lawyer and sue. Whether right or wrong, the court will decide.”
“From the day it happened until now, I have been in contact with my lawyer and have followed all legal procedures correctly. I paid all legal fees myself. It has taken almost two years to get to this point. We have been working with the police, and my lawyer helped handle the court documents. It took a long time, but when the court issued its judgment, I was okay and happy.”
Are you satisfied with the time lost and the 1 million baht compensation?
“I am satisfied. As I said before, I never expected how much I’d get back. I just wanted to catch the scammers because I lost money to criminals, not for any other benefit. So, I wanted to find and catch them. As the process continued, there was a criminal case against four defendants, who are now serving 6-7 year prison terms. The man impersonating a police officer, seen in the video, got 7 years. The court ordered the full 4 million baht to be returned. After that, my lawyer told me I could sue the bank, which I did. The court ruled it was joint negligence, so I got 1 million baht back.”
Will you get the full 4 million baht back?
“That depends on another case. The police are collecting evidence to arrest the gang leader and trace the money. If that case is resolved, and for example, they seize 500 million baht, it will be distributed to victims. It may not cover the full amount. Honestly, I had given up, but my lawyer encouraged me to keep fighting, so I will.”
When will you get the money back?
“We have to wait and see if the bank appeals. If they do, it will delay things, and we’ll have to fight again.”
Have you gained a lot of legal knowledge from this experience?
“I’ve been involved in this process for almost two years. As I said, I felt discouraged because I didn’t want to keep repeating the story. But even though I lost 4 million baht, getting some of it back is still something.”
Some say your case offers hope to others?
“My process was: once I realized what happened, I went to the police station, reported to cyber police, gave statements, and hired a lawyer. Many people may need to hire a lawyer to proceed with their cases. After talking to my lawyer, they arranged meetings, handled documents, explained the process, and prepared me for court. I told the truth in court. The final outcome depends on the court’s decision.”
Are you worried if they appeal?
“No, I’m not worried. I will keep fighting. This is a lesson for myself and an example for others who have been scammed. Recently, I saw people still being locked up in rooms and extorted for money. This still happens, and I don’t know when it will end. What victims can do is claim their rights through the court.”
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