iCon case handed to Department of Special Investigation
DSI sets up 20-member panel to investigate charges of fraud and pyramid-selling
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has formed a panel to investigate iCon Group, a direct sales company accused of luring hundreds of people into buying products under a pyramid selling scheme.
Eighteen suspects have been arrested and charged with fraud in the iCon case. Among them are the company’s CEO, Warathaphon “Boss Paul” Waratyaworrakul, and celebrities who promoted iCon Group.
Police said they had received around 1,100 complaints filed by individuals who said they had invested in iCon Group’s food supplements with a promise of quick sales.
When they failed to shift the products, the company told them to recruit more sellers to work under them and collect a share of their “investment”.
The DSI said it will investigate whether iCon Group’s actions were fraudulent according to criminal law and violated an executive decree on issuance of fraudulent loans.
The 20-member investigation panel will be chaired by DSI deputy director Pol Capt Wisanu Chimtrakul.
