Investment scheme lands Aussie in jail

A 64-year-old Australian businessman allegedly involved in dubious gold investment
schemes in Thailand is being held in a Thai prison after his arrest last week.
Lance Frederick Shaw was detained at Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday on an arrest
warrant over allegations of defrauding hundreds of thousands of dollars in an online
gold investment scam.
Police sources told AAP on Sunday Shaw was being held at a prison near the resort
town of Pattaya, 120 kilometres from Bangkok where he had been operating the online
gold investment company known as Hiperfinance (High Performance Finance).
Thai police had refused to grant bail at a brief court hearing last week "due to the
seriousness and number of charges against Shaw", reports said.
Up to six cases, involving up to 10 million baht ($A370,000), have been filed
against Shaw who had allegedly targeted Australian and British investors in
particular.
An investigative report conducted by the Bangkok Post in August claimed investors
had lost amounts of between $A11,500 and $A290,000 in the online investment company.
The reports said investors had lost homes, savings, wedding funds and retirement
savings.
The company had advertised in the local newspaper luring investors with promises of
returns of up to 20 per cent a month in property and gold investments.
Shaw has denied any wrongdoing saying he has also been a victim having lost $US20
million ($A23 million). He has said he merely promoted the scheme and was not a
principal behind it.
In 1986 Shaw was named by Australian media as the bankrupt proprietor of a petrol
supply company known as the 200 Club.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in a 2000 press release
listed Shaw as subject to an ASIC injunction for affiliation with Singapore Liason
Priority, which allegedly ran a fraudulent and Ponzi-style property scheme.
Australian consular officials are expected to request access to Shaw later this week.
No date has been set for his next court appearance.