Police arrest iCon CEO, celebrity, others for public fraud

Police arrested iCon Group founder and CEO Warathaphon “Boss Paul’’ Waratyaworrakul and 11 other company officials on charges of public fraud on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr Warathaphon, 41, was taken into custody at the Consumer Protection Board office. He was there to give a statement about the operations of his online sales business, which is being investigated for alleged pyramid selling and fraud.   
The CEO of The iCon Group Co refused to talk to reporters. 
About 4pm, officers from the Crime Suppression Division and the Consumer Protection Police Division arrived at the office to arrest Mr Warathaphon.
The Criminal Court earlier on Wednesday approved arrest warrants for Mr Warathaphon and 17 others, some of them celebrities, on charges of public fraud and putting false information into a computer system.
Police took Mr Warathpahon with them to search his house and offices for evidence in the case. He was later taken to the Central Investigation Bureau. 
Eight other high-profile individuals involved with the company were also arrested on Wednesday, police said. 
They were Ms Panjarat “Boss Tan’’ Kanokrakthanaphorn; Tananont “Boss Mor Ek’’ Hiranchaiwan;  Ms Natpasorn “Boss Suay” Chatthanasor; Ms Yasikan “Boss Soda” Ekchisanuphong;  Nantharat “Boss Om” Chaowanapreecha; Thawinphas “Boss Win” Phupattanarin; Hassayanont “Boss Pop” Ekchisanuphong, and celebrity Yuranunt “Sam’’ Pamornmontri.
Earlier on Wednesday, police searched the iCon Wellness centre in Bangkok, looking for “Boss Mor Ek”, a medical technician accused of falsely presenting himself as doctor of medicine. He was not there. He is among those later arrested.
Police later arrested three more members of  The iCon Group –  actress Pechaya “Boss Min’’ Wattanamontree, Ms Wilailak “Boss Oil’’ Jengsuwan; and Thanarot “Boss Off” Thitijariyawat, according to an informed source.
This brought the total number of fraud-link suspects being held to 12.The trio were also taken to the CIB office for questioning.
A source said Pol Maj Gen Montree Theskhan,  commander of the CSD, ordered the building management to prepare rooms to interrogate the fraud suspects and cleaning staff to clean detention rooms.More suspects were likely to be arrested. To date, 12 of the 18 suspects in the case have been arrested.