Thai woman accused of blackmailing monks in three-year scheme totaling $11.9 million and more

Thai woman arrested for sextorting monks 

In a scandal that’s shaken Thailand’s Buddhist community, police arrested a woman known as “Ms. Golf” in July 2025 for a three-year scheme in which she allegedly blackmailed monks after having sexual relationships with them. Police say she used explicit photos and videos of her encounters with the monks to extort money from them. She allegedly collected approximately 385 million baht ($11.9 million) from at least nine monks. Investigators, who found 80,000 images and photos in Ms. Golf’s home, say she used the money to fund her online gambling habit. She’s charged with extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods.

In response, Thailand’s governing body for Buddhism, the Sangha Supreme Council, plans to review monastic regulations. The Thai government is calling for tougher penalties for monks who break monastic code.

This isn’t the first scandal in Thailand’s Buddhist community, and in recent years, monks have been at the center of cases involving fraud and drugs. King Vajiralongkorn has revoked 81 monks’ titles, citing public harm caused by scandals.

DOJ, SEC unveil charges in $275 million water vending fraud case

In August, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of Justice filed criminal and civil charges against Ryan Wear, founder of Water Station Management LLC, and Jordan Chirico, former fund portfolio manager and investment adviser, with operating fraud schemes that raised more than $275 million from more than 250 investors. Their Ponzi schemes involved selling water vending machines — many of which never existed — to investors (including military veterans), with returns funded by new investor money rather than legitimate revenue.

“The scale of this fraud, which resulted in at least $200 million in losses, is simply staggering,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington in a press release. “And the deception and obfuscation these two men allegedly engaged in to siphon funds from retail investors, even U.S. military veterans, is absolutely unconscionable.”

Wear faces charges of securities and wire fraud for raising funds with false promises about machine productivity while using investor funds for personal gain. Chirico faces charges of securities and investment adviser fraud for secretly investing his fund (3/5/2 Capital ABS Master Fund) in Water Station Management bonds while concealing his $7 million stake.

He allegedly ignored red flags and prioritized his return over his clients’. The SEC has filed parallel civil complaints against the defendants, seeking fines, disgorgement of illicit gains, injunctive relief and professional bans.

YouTube ‘scambaiters’ team up with feds to take down crime ring defrauding seniors

An international fraud ring accused of bilking more than $65 million from thousands of vulnerable older people — including the 97-year-old widow of a Holocaust survivor — has been brought down, thanks in part to an unlikely ally: YouTube creators. In August, San Diego prosecutors revealed that 28 alleged members of a Chinese organized crime group had been indicted for operating a massive scam and money laundering operation targeting U.S. older adults. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FBI and IRS arrested 25 suspects in California, New York, Texas and Michigan. Authorities also seized more than $4.2 million in assets, including a 2022 Mercedes-Benz G63, a 2024 Porsche Panamera and a 2025 GMC Yukon Denali.

Prosecutors say the group worked alongside India-based call centers to perpetrate a scheme that involved psychologically manipulating victims into handing over their life savings. Fraudsters posed as government agents, bank employees or technical support representatives and informed victims that they’d mistakenly received funds or had been overpaid. They then pressured victims into returning the “excess” money through wire transfers, gift cards or cash deliveries.

In an unprecedented twist, YouTube “scambaiters” gathered evidence that helped authorities take down the sophisticated crime ring. (“Scambaiter” refers to a person who poses as a potential fraud victim to waste criminals’ time and resources, gather information to help authorities, and expose scammers’ tactics.) Creators involved with YouTube channels “Scammer Payback” and “Trilogy Media” spent years setting up sting operations that ambushed fraudsters. While being recorded on film, fraudsters ultimately revealed their identities after being confronted about their crimes.

U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon lauded the YouTube creators who assisted in the case, saying in a press release, “Not all heroes wear capes. Some have YouTube channels.”

London police arrest six men tied to $390,000 ‘grate cheese robbery’

Authorities in the U.K. have arrested six men in connection with the 2024 theft of more than 24 metric tons of rare cheddar, valued at $390,000. The heist, known as the “grate cheese robbery,” made headlines globally. The case involves a fraudulent buyer posing as a wholesale distributor for a French retailer who placed an order for 950 wheels of award-winning artisanal cheeses from London-based Neal’s Yard Dairy. The order made it to France in September 2024, but Neal’s Yard Dairy never received payment.

Despite being a victim of the scheme, Neal’s Yard Dairy honored all payments to three small-scale cheese suppliers. The police arrested one man last November on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods. They made five additional arrests this year. All six suspects have been released under investigation while the inquiry continues.

Crystal Zuzek is an assistant editor of Fraud Magazine. Contact her at czuzek@ACFE.com.