DUPED. Almost a hundred investors who were victimized by the multi-level marketing company Jacama, ask for help from acting City Mayor Paolo Duterte on Monday, July 11. (City Information Office)
DAVAO TODAY — The new regional director of the National Bureau of Investigation urged scam victims to push through with filing charges against fraudulent companies.
Atty. Arnold Rosales, NBI regional director also advised investors to be cautious in investing their money and to avoid being a victim of investment scams as he named the firms involved in scams in Davao Region on Wednesday, July 13.
Rosales said a lot of investors fell victims to scams here in the region.
First in the investment scam list here in Davao is the Jacama Sales and Marketing, a company that was ordered closed in January this year. Jacama engaged in offering and sale of securities in the form of investment contracts. It promised its victims a return on investments every 15 days after a certain period in the form of goods and cash. The business failed to secure the license from the Security Exchange Commission.
Rosales said they had difficulty in filing a case as some victims accepted the offer of settlement. But on Monday, several victims of Jacama went to the City Hall Monday, July 11 to seek the assistance of local officials.
Around a hundred victims met with acting City Mayor Paolo Duterte to ask for assistance after losing a huge amount of money they ‘invested’ in the company that was ordered closed in January this year.
Duterte ordered Dionesio Abude, chief of the city’s special anti-scam unit called Task Force Bulatik (a Visayan dialect for fraud), to assist the victims. He said an investigation will be conducted and it will also cover other alleged fraudulent activities in the city.
The other firms named by Rosales were PED-VEL (Pedro Velasco), a multi-level marketing firm, King Elise Marketing Solutions and Realty, a back-guarantee sales program, Ponciano Davao Credit Cooperative, Dragon One, Shoppers’ Circle and Bitworks Enterprise.
The NBI already sent a subpoena for Dragon One, while King Elise and PED-VEL were already sued and charged with syndicated estafa as defined in Article 315 and 316 of the Revised Penal Code.
“The case is still at the prosecutor’s office for preliminary investigation,” Rosales said.
A Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Advisory stated that PED-VEL was engaged in investment-taking activities where one is promised to earn returns of 27 percent in 36 days, while King Elise offered investors 33 percent interest of their capital to be given in 45 days after their payment.
Rosales complained that victims themselves are duped by the scammers who tells them that because they complained at the NBI, the company cannot pay them back anymore.
“Gagawan kasi nila ng palusot ang mga may-ari nun na “hindi namin nabalik yung pera nyo dahil tinira kami sa mga taga NBI, kung hindi sana kayo nag sumbong itong few members natin e di tuloy sana yung regalo nyo, e ano ngayon wala na kaming pera, binigay na namin sa NBI (They will tell the victims ‘we cannot give your money back because some of our members complained to the NBI’),” said Rosales.
Rosales said the NBI is hindered to take action when there are only few complainants because the other investors will get mad at the bureau for damaging their investments.
He said scam victims should not allow the scammers to dupe them twice and encouraged them to immediately file a case.
He also reminded investors not to get attracted with the promise of easy-money. (With a report from Janika Mia Tiempo, MSU Intern/davaotoday.com)
