Italian Couple Arrested in Thailand for Using George Clooney’s Name to Scam Investors

CHONBURI – Thailand’s Crime Suppression police have arrested two Italian men for allegedly conning investors out of 40 million in a bogus clothing company, using the name of US actor George Clooney.

Crime Suppression Division (CSD) commander Jiraphob Puridet said on Sunday Francesco Galdeli, 58, and Vanja Goffi, 45, were detained at a house in Bang Lamung district near Pattaya city on Saturday under arrest warrants issued by Interpol.

Pol Maj Gen Jiraphob told the Bangkok Post that the Italian authorities had alerted the (CSD) to their whereabouts in Thailand after they fled a court sentence in Italy.

Mr Galdeli and Ms Goffi were sentenced by a Milan court to eight years and four months in jail and fined €14,500 (500,000 baht) on fraud charges.

They convinced investors that they were creating a clothing label using the actor’s name on garments for export. The crime took place in 2010 and Mr Clooney sued them in Italy.

The CSD chief said the two were able to dupe investors out of more than 40 million baht since they arrived in Thailand in 2014.

Police have charged them both for overstaying their visas in Thailand and will hand them over to Italian authorities after legal proceedings are completed.

The nature of the relationship between Mr Galdeli and Ms Goffi was unknown.

Mr Galdeli and Ms Goffi Being Arrested