THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested four persons involved in alleged investment scam in Parañaque City.
Authorities identified the suspects as Alvin Shagun, Aldrin Alimbuyog, Geraldine Santos, and Noel Dayawan, who were presented for inquest before the Parañaque City Prosecutor’s Office.
The charges include syndicated estafa under Presidential Decree No. 1689, violations of Republic Act No. 8799 (Securities Regulation Code), Investment Fraud under R.A. 11765 (Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act), all in connection with R.A. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).
The complaint detailed that suspect Sahagun enticed him through the Messenger App for a business meeting.
The meeting, held in a Parañaque City hotel, involved a discussion about an investment scheme related to the suspects’ company, “Advocate Change Club” (ACC).
The scheme promised a monthly return of 5% to 8% on the invested money, which would also be invested in cryptocurrency, with the entire principal returned after a year.
The complainant, motivated by the proposal, invested P3,000,000.
For his part, suspect Sahagun issued 12 post-dated cheques, each amounting to P150,000.00 as interest and an additional cheque of P3,000,000 for the final return.
However, the complainant faced issues when the first cheque was rejected due to insufficient funds.
Upon discovering ACC was not a registered company according to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), the complainant sought assistance from the NBI.
In response, an entrapment operation was promptly conducted to address the alleged fraudulent activities.
