Thai authorities have issued an arrest warrant against a popular YouTuber accused of scamming followers out of $55 million, reports say

• Thai authorities issued an arrest warrant for YouTube star "Nutty" for a $55 million scam.
• Nutty advertised forex trader courses and flaunted images of her purported profits to Instagram.

Thai authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Natthamon "Nutty" Khongchak, an influencer and YouTuber they say scammed followers out of 2 billion baht (about $55 million) in a foreign exchange trading scam, before fleeing the country.

Nutty, who frequently posted dancing and singing videos to her 847,000 YouTube followers, also claimed to be a successful forex trader in her Instagram bio and posted advertisements for private forex trading courses to the platform. She also claimed to be able to deliver major returns to her investors -- promising 25% returns on 3-month contracts and 30% returns on 6-month contracts, according to Asian trading site NextShark.

But in May, Nutty disclosed that she owed her investers 1 billion baht ($27.5 million). In a short Instagram clip, she said her broker had blocked both her funds and trading account since March, but that she would attempt to repay the money. She's since been largely quiet on social media and is believed to have possibly fled Thailand.

According to fraud-victim lawyer Phaisal Ruangrit, cited in a report by Bangkok-based newspaper The Nation, over 6,000 people gave Nutty money to invest — enticed by the possibility of quick, high returns.

Victims say they were tricked into investing with Nutty in part because of the high-flying lifestyle she portrayed on her social media accounts, which included upscale vacations, luxury cars, and designer bags.

Some of the victims, led by Ruangrit, have filed complaints with Thailand's Economic Crime Suppression Division, and are offering an award of around 5 million baht ($137,000) for information on her whereabouts, according to the South China Morning Post.

Wattana Ketumpai, a police officer at the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau in Nonthaburi, told Bloomberg that Thai police had issued an arrest warrant for the YouTuber last week. As of August 30, the bureau had received more than 100 complaints claiming losses of 30 million baht ($820,424) total, though Wattana noted the number could be higher if complaints were filed through police precincts.

Natthamon "Nutty" Khongchak and the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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