Celebrity lawyer 'Tum' sentenced to six years on fraud conviction

Former high-profile lawyer Sittra Biabungkerd, widely known as “Lawyer Tum”,was sentenced to five years and 12 months in prison today by the Criminal Court, after being found guilty of fraud and violations of the Computer Crime Act. He was also ordered to pay the plaintiff, Jatuporn Ubonlert, 72.5 million baht in compensation plus interest.

Sittra was sentenced to four years and six months for fraud, related to investment in the development of an online lottery platform and the purchase of a Mercedes Benz, plus another one year and six months for violations of the Computer Crime Act.

The case was brought to the attention of the police when Jatuporn, a Thai businesswoman based in France, filed a complaint through her lawyer in 2024, accusing Sittra of cheating her out of about 71 million baht, which she had sent to him for the proposed online lottery platform and which was never delivered, nor was her investment money returned.

Sittra, however, claimed that the money was sent to him as a gift by Jatuporn.