They were hurt unknowingly by someone close to them who had been with them for over 20 years, causing Lydia Sarunrat and Matthew Dean to feel deeply pained and led them to file a lawsuit that went to court. The other party was granted bail of 5.6 million baht, providing two land deeds and 8 million baht in cash as collateral.
Recently, Lydia and Matthew appeared on the show "Jae" to openly share a cautionary tale after trusting someone close, like family, resulting in a loss of over 18 million baht. Lydia said,
"Let’s just say the person who can harm us is someone close — a trusted person. Because someone not close to us wouldn’t even be given the chance. This person was close, going in and out of our lives, living together for about 20 years. We could call them family because we loved each other like family."
Moddam said, "The lawsuit involves 37 counts of theft with damages of 18 million baht, and the court set bail at 5 million baht, which is quite high. At that time, they used land deeds and cash for bail, correct?"
Lydia replied, "Yes, two land deeds and over 8 million baht in cash were used for bail. Otherwise, they would have been jailed immediately. Now it’s just in the legal process, ongoing as usual."
Nott asked, "Have you gotten even a baht back yet?"
Lydia answered, "Not yet."
Pingpong inquired, "After 20 years together, did you ever have any private conversations?"
Lydia said, "At first, yes. In the beginning, they wanted to negotiate, apologized, and returned part of the money initially discovered. But after that, they changed completely."
Nott asked, "Do you think you will get the money back, as advised by your lawyer?"
Lydia replied, "At this moment, I’m not sure. We have to wait and see."
Nott said, "From now on, who can you trust?"
Lydia responded, "Oh, no one. From now on, I will take care of everything very carefully, meticulously, and not let anything slip."
Nott asked, "Have you ever looked back and wondered if it was even worse than you knew?"
Lydia said, "It’s exhausting to investigate. I’m not saying who it is yet. Regarding what happened, it was very tiring and a waste of life. It stressed me out. When I’m overly consumed, I have no time for my children. So I decided I’ve had enough. I just want justice and fairness. I don’t want to fight or argue publicly—it just clutters the mind. I want to handle it properly through the legal process."
Moddam asked, "How did you realize it on the first day you caught them?"
Matthew said, "I think this kind of thing can happen, but eventually it will be exposed, sooner or later. There are many cases like ours in the entertainment industry. It’s just a matter of when you find out."
Lydia said, "It was like a divine blessing. You have to see it; it was sent to us. We didn’t seek or suspect it, but the evidence clearly appeared. It was as if it was sent for us to see. Someone slipped up, and once the truth was revealed, it kept unraveling. From one clue, we kept investigating until it led to the person."
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