Nine people, including six Thai nationals, were questioned at Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court yesterday for their involvement in an alleged Ponzi scheme that cheated people across the province of $500,000.

Or Borin, provincial military police chief, said about 130 families had lodged complaints against a company that promised a high return on investment, then stopped making payments last month.

“We have sent nine people – three men and three women from Thailand, and three Cambodians – to the court for questioning,” he said.

However, the two Thais who allegedly owned and ran the operation had already fled home, said Chea Da, military police chief for Poipet town.

So Vuthy, one of the complainants, said he was persuaded by a friend to put money in a firm called Invest Next-Gen, and after initially receiving good returns, upped his investment. “At first I put $500, then $1,000 and $2,000, and they regularly paid us,” Vuthy said. “So on October 7, I put $50,000, and then they did not pay me.”

Provincial prosecutor Meas Chanpiseth said the nine individuals had not been arrested and were only being questioned.