‘Investment scam’ suspects fall

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

 

BACOLOD City – A man who used fake identities and eight others were arrested in an entrapment operation for an alleged investment scam at Barangay Zone 2, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental last Friday.

Arrested were Joel Famoso, 52, who is renting an apartment at Barangay Mandalagan here; his partner Hazel Sharon Duclayan, 41, of Sarangani Province; and their members in the organization – Ruel Telebrinco, 41, and Juanito Gardoce Jr., 32, both residents of Silay City; Arman Casuyon, 47, and Danellen Iligan, 21, both residents of Binalbagan town; Ivy Binas, 34, of Sultan Kudarat; and Harriet Piamonte, 29, and Heide Visitacion, 46, both residents of Zamboanga del Sur.

According to Police Major Alvimar Flores of the Provincial Intelligence Unit (PIU), Famoso was the target of the operation after he allegedly recruited members to invest in their organization, which is similar to the alleged modus of Kapa Community Ministry.

Kapa has been under fire for seeking donations from members to be invested in supposed business ventures with the promise of high returns. Authorities have labeled the scheme as a Ponzi scheme where the money of one investor is given to another in the guise of investment gains.

Flores said that a police asset invested P120,000 in “boodle” or fake money in the organization, as the group assured him of a 50 percent return within a month. When the operation was done, police then arrested the nine for syndicated estafa.

The entrapment operation was initiated after closely monitoring the activities of the group in the province for several months, he added.

PIU operatives, along with personnel of Cadiz City Police Station, and Tacurong City Police Station in Sultan Kudarat, also served two arrest warrants for estafa and two alias warrants for usurpation of authority against Famoso.

The arrest warrant for estafa was issued by Judge Jinnefer Huminding of Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 63 in La Trinidad, Benguet, with a recommended bail of P40,000.

The two alias warrants were issued by Judge Nectar Precious Hope Gumana-Mamon of Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC), and Judge Delilah Gonzales-Muñoz of Municipal Trial Court in  La Trinidad, Benguet, with a bail of P30,000 and P6,000, respectively.

Flores said that Famoso had posed as a Major General, a pastor, and a lawyer to his potential would-be victims. But the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) already denied that he is a ranking official.

Flores also said that they found out that Famoso had also introduced himself as a special envoy working under the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and as a Chief Presidential Investigator under the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) which possibly influenced other victims.

Sometime in 2018, Famoso was reportedly involved in a large investment scam which victimized thousands of people from South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sarangani Province.

He allegedly collected from each member P70 as membership fee under a “special project” of President Rodrigo Duterte tagged as “Pagbabago at Karapatan ng Women Power in Mindanao, Inc,” the police said.

As it turned out, there was no legitimacy behind this so-called special project, Flores said.

When he went into hiding in the province for about a year now, Famoso introduced himself as a pastor and preached at different ministries, Flored said. To gain the members’ trust and sympathy, he gave out “love gifts” like motorcycle, cash amounting to P30,000, and even rice and other goods, he added.

He has been operating in Negros since 2008 then going off the radar and resumed operations in 2012 and 2019.  He has reached as far as Escalante City in the north, Binalbagan, Isabela, Cauayan, Sipalay, Hinobaan in the south and even here in Bacolod, the police said.

Police recovered from Famoso a fragmentation grenade while Telebrinco and Casuyon each yielded a .38 caliber revolver and ammunition.

Authorities confiscated from Duclayan the fake money used during the operation.

The three armed men will be facing additional charges for illegal possession of explosive, and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, respectively, Flores said.

Meanwhile, the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) will coordinate with other police offices in other regions regarding the other arrest warrants of Famoso.

The provincial police office reminded the public to exercise caution in dealing with business transactions to prevent being scammed.

Flores also encouraged the group’s victims to come out and file charges against Famoso and his companions. All nine suspects are detained at Cadiz City Police Station.