PHUKET — An American fugitive wanted by New York state police for internet fraud has been captured in Phuket.
Theodore Andrew Werner, 48, was taken to a press conference at the Central Investigation Bureau in Bangkok on Monday following his arrest at a condominium in the southern resort island Saturday.
CIB deputy chief Charn Wimolsri said the arrest came after a US law-enforcement unit in Thailand asked the CIB to locate Mr Werner, who had been hiding in the kingdom, and deport him to the US.
Mr Werner is alleged to have impersonated a New York Department of Taxation and Finance official and made fraudulent internet calls to lure people into investing in businesses and transferring money to him.
The damage was estimated at more than US$2 million (68.8 million baht).
Po Maj Gen Charn said investigators found Mr Werner arrived in Thailand last year on a tourist visa, then obtained a student visa to prolong his stay.
He previously stayed in different rented rooms and apartments with a Thai woman in Nakhon Si Thammarat before police located him Phuket.
The American will be sent to Phuket Immigration Office to face deportation, Pol Maj Gen Charn added.