An American cryptocurrency boss was arrested at his luxury apartment in Thailand after he allegedly scammed investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
John Barksdale, 37, from New Jersey, was detained by immigration police at his plush villa on Koh Samui, Thailand after complaints about his ‘Ormeus Coin’ product.
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.
Footage showed him emerging from his room without a shirt on before being lead past his swimming pool with stunning ocean views and bundled into a police car.
Officers have detained Barksdale in Bangkok, 480 miles away, while they investigate the complaints against him. Barksdale 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 alt coin similar to Bitcoin.
Police say that the total alleged damage is $325,000.
Plusker and Steed said that Ormeus Coin promised them 100 per cent profits shortly after their investment.
But the investors claimed they followed the progress through the website for years and had never earned any profitable income.
They also alleged that Barkdale had changed the website and become unreachable since they complained.
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, Barkdale had escaped the warrant to Koh Samui where he also operated a luxury resort business on a mountainside.
Police Colonal 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.’ Barksdale has yet to respond to the allegations
