A retired Aussie police officer living in Thailand has faced off with his alleged scammer after his life savings were stolen through a cryptocurrency scam.
Michael Reinecke, 63, allegedly had 40,000,000 Thai Baht ($1.9million) taken from him by a German expat in Thailand and local police helped not only catch the alleged fraudster, but make him face his victim.
Mr Reinecke was promised monthly returns of five to ten per cent through the crypto platform before the German suddenly shut down the ‘investment platform’ and allegedly disappeared with the money.
Mr Reinecke and his wife Areeat Noonyot, 50, reported the alleged scam to local police in Udon Thani Province on July 18.
Mr Reinecke, who retired to Thailand after a career as a police officer in Queensland, said he made an error in judgment.
‘I was genuinely looking forward to a happy retirement with my Thai wife and never imagined I would be defrauded of nearly 40 million Baht like this. I am deeply saddened,’ he said.
His alleged scammer boasted about his high-flying lifestyle on social media, posing next to swimming pools, driving luxury cars, enjoying yachts and riding in private jets.
But Mr Reinecke got his revenge when police tracked down the German and arrested him on August 1, before plonking him in front of the Aussie expat to explain himself.
Michael Reinecke confronts his alleged scammer in Thailand
Mr Reinecke posed with local authorities after they caught the man they believed scammed him out of his life savings
‘These guys are on top of you,’ Mr Reinecke told him, before gesturing to surrounding police.
The alleged scammer attempted to weasel his way out of it.
‘Do you really think this is going to help the situation? That you are going to get your money back?’ he said.
‘You should’ve thought about that before you did it, before you bullsh***ed me,’ Mr Reinecke replied.
‘Believe what you want. I have my lawyers and my witness statements. It will take time, but I will be fine,’ the alleged scammer said.
He then went on to plead for Mr Reinecke’s sympathy.
‘I will mostly die here in Thai prison. Is that what you want?’ he told him.
‘You should have thought about that before you started ripping people off,’ Mr Reinecke fired back.
The alleged fraudster was happy to show off his lifestyle on social media
He posed in front of luxury pools, on yachts and in private planes before being caught
The accused scammer was then taken away by police.
The 63-year-old Aussie said he became familiar with his alleged con artist through social media before travelling to Phuket to discuss an investment, saying he was manipulated by a man he thought was credible.
In a press conference over the weekend, Police Colonel Phattanawong Chanphon told local media the alleged scammer denied all charges, saying he did not intend to trick Mr Reinecke.
‘He claimed that he lost his phone and was hacked, which prevented him from calling or refunding the money,’ he said.
‘However, we do not believe him, because while we were waiting for the court to issue his warrant, he was still livestreaming on his accounts and luring people to invest with him.’
The German expat was charged with fraud and ‘fraudulently importing false computer data into a computer system in a manner likely to cause damage to the public’.
