Thai man, 31, with S$32 in bank account, posed as millionaire to defraud victims in S'pore of S$400,000

A 31-year-old Thai man pretended to be a wealthy tycoon in Singapore to scam victims of nearly S$400,000.

When the victims tried to recover the money, Daichi Khamkrasin claimed to have more than S$1 million in savings, even though he only had S$32.23 in his bank account.

Daichi faced a total of five charges, including criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery of documents, and forgery with intent to cheat, Shin Min Daily News reported.

He pleaded guilty to three of the charges, with the remaining charges taken into consideration by the judge during sentencing.

'U.S. investment opportunity'

According to court documents seen by Mothership, a Japanese national was looking to open a new Japanese restaurant in April 2023.

He had gotten to know Daichi, a customer who patronised his existing restaurant.

Knowing that Daichi had experience in the industry, the two began discussing a potential joint venture to open a new restaurant together.

In May 2023, during these discussions, Daichi brought up an "exclusive investment opportunity" to trade shares in the United States, claiming it was an insider deal that could only be executed through him.

Daichi told the man that an investment of S$70,000 to S$100,000 would yield a 30 per cent return.

He added that the profits could cover the man's family expenses for a few months or be channelled into their new restaurant venture.

Believing these claims, the man and his wife met Daichi for lunch on May 18, 2023, and agreed to invest S$88,000.

Under the agreement, the principal sum and the 30 per cent return were due by Jun. 30, 2023.

Forgery

The couple requested an electronic loan contract signed by a guarantor.

Daichi claimed that his godmother, Ho, would act as the guarantor.

Trusting this, the man's wife signed the electronic document on her husband's behalf.

Daichi also signed, promising to obtain Ho's signature later.

Instead, Daichi used his iPad to crop, copy, and paste Ho’s name, NRIC number, electronic signature, and company stamp from an old document onto the new contract.

He knowingly forged the agreement to deceive the Japanese man without Ho's knowledge or consent.

Daichi knew at all times that his representations were false.

Deadline not met

Later that afternoon, the Japanese man withdrew S$88,000 in cash and handed it to a man to purchase an equivalent value of Tether (USDT).

The cryptocurrency was then deposited into a digital wallet provided by Daichi.

This wallet belonged to Daichi.

By Jun. 30, 2023, the couple had not received their capital or the promised returns.

They pressed Daichi for payment, but he repeatedly stalled them with various excuses.

On Sep. 25, 2023, the couple managed to secure a meeting with Daichi, who assured them he had the funds to repay them.

To prove his financial standing, he showed them a forged OCBC statement dated Sep. 25, 2023, which falsely displayed a balance of S$1,025,151.25 in his purported Global Wealth Account.

In truth, no such statement existed.

His account was not a Global Wealth Account, and his actual OCBC account only contained S$32.23 as of Sep. 30, 2023.

'Repayment agreement'

During the same meeting, Daichi presented a repayment agreement to return the principal sum of S$88,000.

Deceived by his forged bank statement, the Japanese man's wife signed the document.

Daichi subsequently repaid S$52,000 to the couple by November 2023.

The man's wife filed a police report on Jan. 21, 2024.

Daichi made full restitution of the remaining balance two years later on Feb. 11, 2026.

Richard Mille watch

In a prior incident, on Aug. 26, 2020, Daichi informed a woman that he was the CEO of "Lu Vn'C Pte Ltd", a company he claimed dealt in jewellery and restaurant businesses.

Following several discussions, the woman agreed to invest in a Richard Mille watch valued at US$241,000 (S$312,066).

On Oct. 12 and 20, 2020, she transferred the full amount to Daichi across two transactions so he could secure the watch on her behalf.

Part of the sum was sent to an OCBC bank account belonging to his company, while the remainder was transferred to Daichi’s personal OCBC account.

However, Daichi did not purchase the luxury watch.

Instead, he transferred US$50,000 (S$64,744) from that personal account into another of his personal OCBC bank accounts and dishonestly used the funds for his own expenses.

Bankrupt

The court heard that Daichi had declared bankruptcy and admitted he had only returned a portion of the money to the woman.

During his plea for leniency, his lawyer highlighted that Daichi was a first-time offender, the offences occurred several years ago, and he is currently bankrupt, Shin Min reported.

The prosecution is seeking a jail term of between 25.5 and 31 months and a compensation order of S$67,000 for the woman.

The case has been adjourned to Jul. 29 for sentencing.