Man nabbed in Quezon City over alleged P3.4-M fraud

INQUIRER FILES MANILA, Philippines — A man was arrested on Thursday morning for allegedly defrauding an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) recruitment agency of P3.435 million, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said. The 31-year-old suspect was tracked down to Barangay Payatas, Quezon City, the NCRPO said. “Investigation revealed that the suspect allegedly posed as a representative of an organization purportedly responsible for accrediting agencies deploying overseas Filipino workers to Taiwan,” the police explained. Article continues after this advertisement READ: Tipsters receive over P9M for arrest of 21 wanted persons “By falsely claiming that the victim’s recruitment agency needed to open a US (United States) dollar account as part of the accreditation process, he allegedly convinced the victim to prepare a substantial amount of money,” it added. According to the police, the victim, identified only as a 48-year-old woman, withdrew the money from her bank account and met with the suspect. “After receiving the money, the suspect allegedly borrowed the victim’s luxury handbag to hold the cash, claiming he would retrieve the corresponding U.S. dollars from his nearby vehicle. Instead, he left the area and failed to return,” the NCRPO explained. “Unbeknownst to the suspect, the stolen handbag contained a tracking device, which allowed investigators to pinpoint his location in Barangay Payatas,” it added. Article continues after this advertisement When police caught the suspect, operatives recovered P2.8 million in cash and the victim’s luxury handbag. The NCRPO did not say where the remaining P600,000 went. “Efforts are ongoing to recover the remaining unrecovered property,” the NCRPO said. Article continues after this advertisement “The suspect remains under police custody pending the filing of appropriate criminal charges before the proper prosecutorial office,” it added. — with reports by Rendell Ivan Manuel, INQUIRER.net trainee / mcm Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.