Swindler nabbed in Manila

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II (PNA photo)

MANILA — Authorities nabbed a man involved in an investment scam who duped eight US residents of USD220,500.

In a press conference held in National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Aguirre presented to the media the suspect identified as Necasio Nazareno who was arrested Wednesday in Manila during an entrapment operation conducted by the NBI’s Anti-Fraud Division (AFD).

Aguirre said this stemmed from the complaint of Alejandre Bugarin, a Filipino businessman who has been residing in the US for the past 10 years.

Bugarin said he came to know Nazareno through his friend Pastor Gavino Ronquillo back in August 2016.

“Kaibigan ko nagrekomenda sa akin, he was my friend,” Bugarin said referring to Ronquillo.

The suspect claimed he allegedly has an account at the HSBC bank in Thailand which contained USD30 billion.

Bugarin said the suspect was able to take a total of USD220,500 from him and seven others, including six fellow Filipinos and an American national.

He said he was convinced to shell out money because of the bank documents presented to him by Nazareno. He, however, admitted that the presentation of documents was made only through social media Facebook and Viber.

Bugarin said Ronquillo told him that the original holder of the account had passed away and transferred it to Nazareno.

Ronquillo told Bugarin that the suspect had no financial capacity to go to Thailand to process the withdrawal of the deposit.

Because of this, Ronquillo was able to convince Bugarin to act as financier or investor of Nazareno by giving the suspect PHP2 million as travel expenses and other logistical needs.

In exchange, the victim would get 1 percent, equivalent to USD300 million, as monthly deposit.

Bugarin said he got convinced to accept the deal since Ronquillo is his friend and copies of documents were also sent to him. The NBI later seized the documents from Nazereno and found them to be bogus.

The victim decided to return home to the Philippines and seek NBI help after they did not receive the promised payments.

Aguirre said Nazareno has been subjected for inquest before the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office for estafa charges.

Apart from the USD220,500 estafa case, the NBI also learned the suspect already has a criminal record and has three other cases pending against him in court.