The Department of Justice has recommended the filing of another syndicated estafa complaint against businessman-politician Celso de los Angeles Jr. and five other officials of the bankrupt Legacy Group of Companies for allegedly duping a woman of her P5 million investment.
In a resolution, the DoJ’s special panel of prosecutors for Legacy cases headed by senior state prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos found probable cause to hold De los Angeles, Carolina Hinola, Namnama Pasetes, Arnel and Soledad Sulquiano, and Elvira Nebre liable for large-scale estafa.
But the panel dismissed the complaint for violation of the bouncing law against the Legacy officials for lack of evidence. The information for syndicated estafa will be filed today before the Makati Regional Trial Court.
The investigating prosecutors said the “inner group of the LGC” led by De los Angeles unlawfully diverted the money collected from the proceeds of the sale of Legacy products, such as the “double-your-money” scheme offered to their investors, among them complainant Josephine Soriano, under a promise of exorbitant returns.
They said the respondents systematically collaborated to deceive the investors and plan holders of Legacy’s pre-need firm Scholarship Plans Philippines Inc.
“We don’t think that nobody at Legacy Consolidated Plans Inc. in his full capacity could stop the illegal rampage of respondent Celso [de los Angeles] at that time. What became illegal were not the products offered by LCPI, but the diversion of the money collected from the proceeds of the sale of these products,” the DoJ panel lamented.
The prosecutors said the double-your-money scheme operated like the Ponzi scam, where money received and collected by the company were being used only to pay off huge returns of investments to earlier investors.
Soriano alleged that she had been enticed by one of the respondents, Sulquiano, to invest in an educational plan with SPPI for her daughter’s secondary and college education.
After paying three educational plans, Soriano was convinced to make further investments totaling P5 million under the LGC’s “double-your-money” program, with the promise of doubling her money in three years’ time.
Soriano said she was told that upon initial placement of her investment, she would immediately get 20 percent of the plan’s maturity value, while the balance of 80 percent will be paid in 12 equal monthly installments through post-dated checks.
But the checks issued to her were returned for reason of “closed account” when presented for encashment. This prompted her to seek assistance before the National Bureau of Investigation.
Aside from Soriano, several other individuals have lodged a complaint before the DoJ against De los Angeles, his relatives and other officials of the troubled Legacy Group for siphoning off millions of pesos from its plan holders and depositors.
Last month, the DoJ filed the first syndicated estafa case against De los Angeles and other officers of his Legacy group of companies for their alleged fraudulent scheme that had siphoned over P830 million from investors in General Santos City.
The investigating prosecutors said charges of violation of Presidential Decree 1689 in relation to Article 315 paragraph 2 (a) of Revised Penal Code have been filed against the Legacy owner and 12 other officers of Rural Bank of DARBCI (Dolefil Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative Inc.) after investigating fiscals found probable cause to indict them before court.
Also named respondents in the case filed in court were lawyer Christine Antenor Cruz-Limpin, Carolina Hinola, Alexis Petralba, Roy Hilario, Bruce Rafanan, Virgilio Odejar, Arnel Sulquiano, Cresencio Wagas Jr., Edgar Cando, Rolando Labrador and Alfredo Novo.
Other Legacy officers—Norman Tiongson, Zacarias Carticiano, Carmencita Cedo, Candy Buenaventura and Raniel Roque—were cleared in the case for lack of probable cause. Rey E. Requejo
