The owner of a popular restaurant filed a police complaint against an influencer who threatened to demand "free meals in exchange for reviews," fearing this could exploit other business operators. Police investigation revealed the influencer has previous criminal cases and is likely to face attempted extortion charges.
In this case, an influencer page with over 300,000 followers contacted a cafe in Nonthaburi province to request a food review, hoping to "eat for free in exchange for a review." When the restaurant refused, the influencer threatened that if the meal was not free, a 25,000 baht fee would be charged and warned they would give the restaurant a damaging 1-star review.
Most recently, at 10:00 a.m. on 26 Oct 2026, Ms. Sarocha Rungsamee, 33, owner of the restaurant “Prakai Bangyai” in Nong Preangyai subdistrict, Sai Noi district, Nonthaburi province, went to Sai Noi police station to file charges against a person named “Sophia” (a pseudonym), an influencer who used a page to falsely claim restaurant reviews and threatened to extort money from the restaurant.
Ms. Sarocha Rungsamee, or “Case,” the owner of Prakai restaurant, said she came to file charges today, changing from the previous day when she only made a police report. After the Sai Noi police chief advised that the case could proceed legally, and after identifying the page user, she submitted the information to police for further action. She believes the person is likely a scammer.
The reason for deciding to press charges was that after posting the story, there was backlash, so she felt the matter should be legally pursued. She suspects the scammer has targeted many other business owners. Initially, she did not press charges because the restaurant had not suffered damage nor transferred any money. But upon learning the suspect had victimized others, she decided to proceed as an example and invited other victims deceived by this page to also report to the police.
Pol. Col. Nattadecha Thanisaphatpong, superintendent of Sai Noi police station, said the victim officially reported the suspect today due to the suspect’s behavior of impersonation, threatening to extort money, or eating without paying, causing distress to business operators.
Initially, authorities plan to charge the suspect with "attempted extortion" as well as other related offenses involving harassment or intimidation, with exact charges to be determined based on evidence.
Furthermore, checking the suspect’s background revealed an outstanding arrest warrant from Bang Bua Thong police station for fraud and involvement with mule accounts, as well as a history related to drug offenses. The suspect is currently evading arrest, and police are urgently investigating and pursuing them to bring them to justice as soon as possible.