The Central Investigation Bureau has issued arrest warrants for Ben Smith and his wife for defrauding international business investors in multiple projects, resulting in losses exceeding one billion baht. The investigation expanded with searches at six locations in the central region, leading to the seizure of 13 pieces of evidence.
On 2 Mar 2024 GMT+7, Pol. Lt. Gen. Nattasak Chaowanasai, Commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, stated that on 26 Feb 2024 GMT+7, the investigative team from Division 3 of the Economic Crime Suppression Division and Division 3 of the Crime Suppression Division compiled evidence and obtained arrest warrants from the Criminal Court for Ben Smith, 47, and his wife, Ms. Katriya Beaver, 40, on charges of "joint fraud and conspiracy to launder money." Evidence showed that they and their associates deceived foreign business investors into investing in various projects, including stocks, real estate, private jets, and energy businesses, causing losses totaling over 1 billion baht.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Nattasak further explained that since early 2016, Ben Smith befriended a group of foreign business investors seeking to expand investments in Thailand. He presented himself as an expert providing advice on investing in the Thai stock market and then invited them to invest in shares of QTC Energy Public Company Limited, which involved actual investments at that time.
Once the victims trusted him, Ben Smith began deceiving them by persuading them to invest 700 million baht in shares of a company called Pace. The company owner signed a loan agreement and issued guarantee checks promising returns of 7% and 11%, totaling over 762 million baht, to build confidence. However, a condition required Ms. Katriya to manage the investments for over a year. Additionally, the victims were deceived into buying a private jet worth 255 million baht for a leasing business and investing 126 million baht in an energy project, purportedly a joint venture with Thai investors and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. Later, the victims noticed irregularities as the Pace shares showed no activity as agreed.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Nattasak said that sensing trouble, associates of Ben Smith devised a scheme to have the victims pay 144 million baht as deposits for seven condominium units and built-in furnishings, claiming that once sold, the proceeds plus higher returns would be returned to the victims. The victims trusted this and complied. However, by 2022, the victims had not received possession of the units and attempts to contact Ben Smith and his associates were met with evasion. Eventually, the victims learned that all units had been transferred to other individuals, revealing the fraud and prompting a complaint to the Central Investigation Bureau.
The Commissioner added that upon receiving the complaint, authorities promptly verified the facts and found evidence indicating that Ben Smith, his wife, and associates repeatedly defrauded victims by soliciting investments in various businesses without using the funds as agreed, constituting routine fraud. They gathered evidence and obtained court warrants for their arrest.
Simultaneously, law enforcement conducted searches at six locations across central provinces to collect documents, witnesses, and related entities involved in the case. They seized 13 additional items of evidence, including two desktop computers, one notebook, two laptops, one MacBook, two iPads, five mobile phones, two hard drives, and various documents such as financial statements, annual expenditure records, and six company seals.