Monday, April 21, 2008 CIDG 7 to file estafa vs. agency staff
A STAFF member of Australia-New Zealand International (ANZ) lamented that if she and her employer were not jailed, they would have gotten the money to give as refund to those who complained against them.
At least 32 clients accused ANZ manager Annabelle Diez and staff member Mary Ellen Flor Barinlao of conning them after they were barred from taking the International English Language Training Systems (IELTS) examination held last Saturday despite paying the fees.
Each client paid more than P8,000, but the International Development Program (IDP), which was authorized to conduct the exam, refused to administer the test to the 32
because ANZ still owed it money.
Barinlao, who was detained at a Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 cell, said they would have been able to work on getting the money to refund each of the clients first thing today, had they not been detained.
“Unsa ma’y mahimo nga napriso man mi (How could we do it when we are in jail?” she said.
Check
Diez declined to comment on their arrest, saying she will release a statement to the press in due time.
She clarified, however, that ANZ is not a placement agency.
Diez would have issued a check to all the clients, but most of them refused, saying they could not be sure if the checks are good.
Barinlao was included in the complaint because she was the one who handled the transactions and accepted the fees.
She said the IDP coordinator changed her mind and no longer accepted her clients for the test.
She said that their IDP contact washed her hands off the incident even after IDP sent them a faxed copy of a list of examinees that included the names of their clients.
As of yesterday, the person has refused to take their phone calls, Barinlao said.
Diez’ camp admitted that they failed to remit the examination fees, but explained that in the past, IDP had allowed their clients to take the exam even if they (ANZ) had not yet paid.
Last Saturday, the surprised clients were waiting outside the hotel’s function room, supposedly for the test, when IDP administrators told them their names were not in the list of examinees.
That prompted them to arrest Diez and bring her to the CIDG 7.
Police are preparing a case for large-scale estafa against Diez and Barinlao. (MEA)
