( dpa )- Thai police arrested a British national for allegedly defrauding a US Vietnam War veteran out of 43.5 million baht (1.4 million dollars) to be invested in a Pattaya condominium project, authorities said Tuesday.
British national Craig Rhodes, 45, and his Thai wife Piyaporn Junthala , 38, were arrested Monday in Pattaya beach resort, 90 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, to face charges that defrauded US national James Russell Generazzo , 61, a retired army officer.
Generazzo accused the couple of taking 43.5 million baht from him on the pretext that the money would be investing in a condominium project in Sattahip , a beach near Pattaya .
Pattaya , Thailand's oldest and once most popular beach resort, has been experiencing a property boom over the past five years with an explosion of new condominium and housing development projects aimed at foreign buyers.