American cryptocoin boss arrested at luxury Thai apartment over alleged online fraud
An American cryptocurrency boss was arrested at his luxury apartment in Thailand over an alleged online scam.
John Barksdale, 37, was detained by immigration police at his plush villa on Koh Samui, Thailand yesterday (August 6) after complaints about his 'Ormeus Coin' product.
He was seen emerging from his room without a shirt before being lead past his swimming pool with stunning ocean views and bundled into a police car.
Officers have now detained him in the capital Bangkok 480 miles away while they probe the complaints.
According to Coinmarketcap, the Ormeus Coin was worth more than $48m dollars in December 2017 before it plunged in value. It currently has a market cap of just over $1m.
Barksdale, from New Jersey, is listed on the coin's website as a lead ''advisor and investor'' in the product.
Two alleged victims, Daranee Plusker and Bob Steed, complained to police in Bangkok last month that they were deceived by the American businessman in 2017.
They said they spent about 100,000 USD on the cryptocurrency startup known as Ormeus Coin - a type of altcoin similar to Bitcoin - which promised them the 100 per cent profits shortly after the investment.
But the investors claimed they followed the progress through the website for years and had never earned any profitable income. They complained that Barksdale had also changed the website and become unreachable since.
Pathumwan District Court issued an arrest warrant for alleged fraud on July 8, which led to the arrest in Suratthani province.
The suspect admitted that he was the man named in the warrant but declined to answer other questions by local interrogators.
According to the police, Barksdale had escaped the warrant to Koh Samui where he also operated a luxury resort business on a mountainside.
Police Colonel Suparerk Pankosol, Superintendent of Suratthani Immigration, said: ''We found that the suspect fled from Bangkok and lived discreetly at his resort.
''He allegedly carried out an overseas fraud, with alleged damage equivalent to 10 million baht. He will be taken to Lumpini police station in Bangkok for legal action.''
