Villagers presented evidence to file charges against the abbot of Mae Kham Temple in Chiang Rai Province, claiming he was deceived by a call center gang into transferring money 207 times, losing a total of 8.7 million baht. The Online Anti-Fraud Center disclosed the details of the case and intervened to assist the abbot in need of help due to the scam.
On 10 Aug 2026 GMT+7, an incident caused concern among locals in Mae Kham subdistrict, Mae Chan district, Chiang Rai. Community leaders from three villages—Mr. Chalermphon Na Jai, headman of Village 2; Mr. Suphot Saokhamkhet, headman of Village 10; and Ms. Sujitra, headwoman of Village 12—brought evidence to file a complaint with investigators at Mae Chan Police Station to press charges against Phra Maha No Kaew Pengjai, 65, the abbot of Mae Kham Temple, and demanded his immediate removal from the temple.
The villagers became suspicious about the temple's financial irregularities since 2025. The issue escalated when the contractor building the new ordination hall halted work due to nonpayment despite nearing the contract deadline. Previously, donors had contributed over 4 million baht for construction, and a contract worth 4,200,000 baht was divided into 12 installments. Six installments of 350,000 baht each had already been paid.
Phra Maha No Kaew, the abbot, revealed he had become a victim of a call center scam. The scammers impersonated government officials, sending fake documents such as court summons and orders multiple times, and used video calls while dressed like police officers to appear credible. They claimed his bank account was frozen and required payments for investigations. Initially, he transferred 500,000 baht from his personal savings to the criminals, followed by 207 transfers totaling over 8,745,187 baht. The scam unraveled when the criminals sent documents claiming they would search the temple, naming a village headman. When the abbot contacted the village headman, he learned it was a fraud.
However, villagers and the temple committee doubted the abbot's claims. They noted several suspicious points: accidental transfers two or three times might be understandable, but 207 transfers without suspicion or verification is highly abnormal. Donations given to the temple are supposed to be deposited directly into the temple's bank account, not handled through a mobile app, making the abbot's claim of transferring money via mobile app unlikely.
Meanwhile, Mr. Niwat Saokhamkhet, a former village headman and one of the three temple financial committee members (currently deputy mayor of Mae Kham subdistrict), revealed that the latest 500,000 baht kathin (offering) funds were not deposited into the temple's account as required. Furthermore, when villagers and committee members requested explanations about payments to the construction workers, the abbot consistently evaded. Mr. Niwat personally suspects this may not be a call center scam but rather misuse of temple funds for personal benefit, noting reports that cash donations were kept without bank deposits and that withdrawals of up to 800,000 baht per transaction had occurred.
Recently, villagers from the three villages who regularly donate to Mae Kham Temple held a meeting and unanimously decided to request that Phra Maha No Kaew temporarily leave the temple while legal proceedings and police investigations continue.
Additional reporting indicates that the Online Anti-Fraud Center (ACSC) coordinated with Mae Chan Police to assist the abbot of a temple in Chiang Rai after receiving tips that he might be a victim of fraud. The center observed that despite sufficient central temple funds, additional fundraising was being solicited from villagers during Buddhist Lent. Initially, the abbot was under the influence and intimidation of the criminals, disbelieved he was scammed, and refused to provide information. Authorities had to persistently persuade him over several days until he finally agreed to file a complaint with Mae Chan Police Station.
Preliminary investigation found that the abbot was first targeted by criminals impersonating officials early in 2025. The scammers threatened that his name had been used to open "ghost accounts" related to online crime cases and warned that disclosing the matter would damage his reputation. Fearing this, the abbot continuously transferred money for investigations from 1 Jan 2025 to 31 Jul 2026, totaling 207 transactions amounting to approximately 8,319,090 baht. The funds were dispersed to over 50 recipient accounts and included both his personal and temple monies.
Police have urgently frozen the involved accounts and expanded their investigation to track and arrest the perpetrators, as well as recover assets to pursue legal action as quickly as possible.