Thai YouTuber on the run for 2 years for fraud arrested in Indonesia after failing to sing country’s national anthem

A Thai YouTube personality with over 800,000 followers and a US$59 million fraud charge couldn’t outrun her past – or her singing. On the run in Indonesia for two years, she attempted to pose as a local, but her cover fell apart when she failed to sing Indonesia’s national anthem in front of authorities.
On Oct 18, Indonesian police arrested 31-year-old Natthamon Khongchak, also known as “Nutty”, and extradited her to Thailand with her mother, Thaniya, on Oct 25.
The mother-daughter pair now face a police investigation into a two-year-old scam that defrauded over 6,000 victims of 2 billion baht (US$59 million), according to Wissanu Chimtrakul, deputy director general of Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI), as reported by the Bangkok Post.
Khongchak, who used aliases such as Leeah and Suchata, gained fame with her YouTube channel “Nutty’s Diary” and Instagram account @nutty.suchata, now both deactivated. Known for singing and dancing to K-pop hits, she openly aspired to become a K-pop idol and was briefly affiliated with the South Korean label Dream Cinema in 2015.
A few years into her YouTube career, Khongchak rebranded herself as an investor and forex trader, often boasting her wealth. On a Thai TV show, she once claimed to “own 14 cars and employ 22 nannies”.
In 2022, she launched a forex investment scheme, promising followers high returns – 25 per cent for three-month contracts, 30 per cent for six months, and 35 per cent for 12 months. She assured them monthly payouts. 
However, when returns failed to materialise, Khongchak reportedly blamed a trading error and urged her followers not to report her, claiming police involvement would prevent her from repaying them.
In July that year, Khongchak, her mother, and their secretary, Nichaphat Rattanukrom, fled. In August, victims, led by lawyer Phaisal Ruangrit, filed complaints, accusing her of exploiting her popularity to lure investors with promises of quick returns.
Police Lieutenant General Thawatchai Piyaneelabut told the Bangkok Post that the trio crossed into Malaysia from southern Thailand before entering Indonesia illegally by sea, where they disguised themselves as locals to evade multiple Thai warrants.
Khongchak reportedly attempted to obtain an Indonesian passport, but immigration officers detected her accent and asked her to sing Indonesia’s national anthem and recite the constitution. When she failed, her true identity was exposed.
Khongchak and her mother were arrested in Indonesia’s Riau province for illegal entry, while Rattanukrom remains at large. The DSI has seized assets worth 16 million baht (US$470,000) and is tracing the money trail to recover more funds, according to the Royal Thai Police.