25 fraud ring members who stole $15M arrested in Thailand
Published: 22 Sep. 2025, 18:55
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Authorities arrest members of a fraud ring at a resort in Pattaya, Thailand, on June 21. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/22/f5a1cd8a-f4ae-461f-bdd5-9f0bd4b7b940.jpg)
Authorities arrest members of a fraud ring at a resort in Pattaya, Thailand, on June 21. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE]
Police said Monday they arrested 25 members of a fraud ring that stole more than 21 billion won ($15.1 million) from nearly 900 Koreans while operating out of a resort in Pattaya, Thailand.
The Economic Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Precinct said the suspects were part of a group called “Lungo Company” that operated like a criminal enterprise.
Thai police separately detained the group's ringleader along with eight other members. They remain in custody in Thailand while Korea pursues their extradition.
From July of last year to July of this year, the group allegedly stole from 878 victims.
Police said the group had divided itself into teams, each specializing in a different scam method. The schemes included romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, fake reservation scams and impersonation of public institutions.
“Unlike previous crime rings that usually relied on a single method, this group used multiple tactics in a systematic way,” a police official said.
![Members of a fraud ring attend a so-called workshop held by the organization operating in Pattaya, Thailand. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/22/374c2672-9ac4-4b5f-be23-9f5107810789.jpg)
Members of a fraud ring attend a so-called workshop held by the organization operating in Pattaya, Thailand. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE]
The romance scam team allegedly used photos of strangers to pose as potential romantic partners on social media, later tricking victims into depositing money on fake websites. Another team used a stolen database from a lottery number recommendation website and lured victims by claiming to offer refunds or compensation for leaked personal data, persuading them to purchase fake cryptocurrency.
The group enforced strict control over members' daily lives, police said. Leaders confiscated passports, restricted phone use, and banned members from leaving the facility. They also held workshops and rewarded members who were deemed “top performers,” while disputes with the ringleader sometimes led to violent assaults.
![Fraud ring members on the run in Thailand are taken into custody. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/22/64289e23-9eba-4cc2-95e5-1a756ea91c03.jpg)
Fraud ring members on the run in Thailand are taken into custody. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE]
Thai police raided the resort in June and arrested several suspects. Joint operations with Seoul police later led to the capture of the ringleader and other core members. Most of those already extradited to Korea are now under arrest and under investigation.
Yim Jung-wan, head of the second economic crime investigation unit, said investigators are now looking into the possibility that the ringleader operated or had ties with other fraud groups.
“We will expand the investigation to determine how the group obtained databases used in the scams and how it laundered its criminal profits,” Yim said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY IM SOUNG-BIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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