Anne Jakrajutatip sentenced to two years in prison in fraud case
Former Miss Universe CEO Anne Jakrajutatip is now facing up to two years of imprisonment after a court in Thailand found her guilty of fraud involving a 30 million baht (PP56.7 million) corporate bond investment.
In a report by the Bangkok Post, the Bangkok South Kwaeng Court sentenced Jakrajutatip to jail after she failed to appear in court for her hearing and remains at large.
The fraud case came after Jakrajutatip and her company, JKN Global Group, were sued by Masterpiece Clinic founder Raweewat Maschamadol for allegedly deceiving him into buying corporate bonds in 2023 despite not having the capacity to pay him back.
The misrepresentation ultimately caused Maschamadol to lose the 30 million baht he had invested.
The South Bangkok Criminal Court found sufficient evidence to proceed with the charges and scheduled a verdict hearing on Nov. 25. Following Jakrajutatip’s failure to appear, judges moved to issue an arrest warrant, revoked her bail, instructed her guarantor to settle the penalty within 15 days, and set a new date for the verdict on Dec. 26.
While a representative of JKN Global Group appeared in court, Jakrajutatip failed to appear in person, prompting them to deliver the ruling in absentia.
Jakrajutatip has yet to issue a statement on this and continues to evade authorities. The South China Morning Post reported that she had apparently fled to Mexico to avoid her legal problems.
Jakrajutatip has been embroiled in financial trouble since 2023.
At the time, the Bangkok Post detailed that the company accumulated a debt of 443 million baht (P713 million) for its JKN239A loans.
Jakrajutatip later clarified that they simply carried out a payment date adjustment after the company requested a postponement of the repayment schedule.
However, that same year, she filed for bankruptcy amid a "liquidity problem" and missed a deadline to repay bonds worth around $12 million.
A Securities and Exchange Commission complaint was filed implicating Jakrajutatip, her company JKN, and its director, alleging that they "failed to properly and accurately maintain the company's financial records."
Jakrajutatip later resigned from both her positions at JKN as well as the Miss Universe Organization.
