‘The Thai Frank Abagnale’: Chicken vendor fakes being a lawyer for years and wins several cases

A Thai chicken vendor who faked his license to practice law and fought several cases was arrested in Kamphaeng Phet province, Thailand.

Pornthep Kachenpak pretended to be a lawyer for several years by collecting clients’ money and hiring a cheaper lawyer whose work on the cases he passed off as his own. Kachenpak reportedly fought many times in court, wherein he managed to win several cases.

Kachenpak was arrested on suspicion of forging a license to practice law and forging documents from Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Court. His fraudulent credentials were uncovered when one of his clients hired another lawyer to investigate him.

The client first suspected deceit when Kachenpak failed to make any progress with her defamation case. She found that her case number was linked to another drug case. When she asked for her 42,000 baht (approximately $1,121) back, Kachenpak did not return it.

Although the lawyer investigating Kachenpak found that the information and photos on Kachenpak’s social media accounts matched his supposed occupation, his license number belonged to another registered lawyer.

According to police, Kachenpak is actually a chicken vendor. He was also previously arrested in Kamphaeng Phet province for “fighting in public.”

At least five victims have reportedly lost their money to Kachenpak, according to Channel 3.

Kachenpak has been dubbed “the Thai Frank Abagnale” by Thai media. Abagnale is an American author and convicted felon who gained notoriety in the late 1970s by faking and successfully passing as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. He co-wrote his autobiography “Catch Me If You Can,” which was turned into the 2002 film of the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.

Featured Image via 3PlusNews

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